Avalanche forecast

Purcells

Feb 22 – 23, 2016Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Intense sun exposure will maintain the potential for large destructive avalanches. Conservative terrain choices with low overhead exposure are essential.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Recent storm snow is sensitive to human triggering and particularly deep and touchy on wind-loaded slopes.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Large and fragile cornices are will likely continue to fall of ridgecrests with sun exposure and temperature fluctuations. Not only are they a hazard in themselves, but also a heavy trigger for slabs on the slope below.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–4
      A weak layer of surface hoar and/or crust down 70-90cm is susceptible to large triggers such as cornice falls or smaller avalanches stepping down. Wide fracture propagations are likely.

Weather Forecast

TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY: Mainly sunny and dry with isolated valley cloud dissipating throughout the day. Freezing levels reaching 1500m and light variable winds. THURSDAY: Mainly sunny and dry with isolated valley cloud dissipating throughout the day. A temperature inversion is expected to result in above freezing temperatures well into alpine elevations Winds should remain generally light from the south.

Confidence

Moderate - Freezing levels are uncertain on Wednesday

Avalanche Summary

Reports from Sunday include a natural Size 2 persistent slab avalanche and a Size 2.5 cornice failure. Several Size 1 skier-triggered wind slabs were also reported and explosives control produced slab avalanches up to Size 3. On Saturday one person was killed and another was hospitalized in a large avalanche in the Quartz Creek area west of Golden. This size 3 snowmobile-triggered slab avalanche occurred on a S-SW aspect in the alpine and is suspected to have released on the Feb. 12 interface.

Snowpack Summary

20-30 cm of snow in the past few days has added to the recent storm slab bonding reasonably well to a crust 40-60 cm below the surface, that was buried on February 12th. However, in isolated areas (such as shady sheltered treeline slopes) there may be a weak layer of surface hoar at the storm snow/crust interface that is touchy to human triggers and may result in wide propagations. The early January surface hoar/ facet layer is typically down 70-120 cm. Avalanche activity at this interface has tapered-off over the past week, but I'd be reluctant to trust this potentially destructive layer just yet. In general, the lower snowpack is well settled and strong, apart from some thin snowpack areas where basal facets exist.

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