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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 8th, 2017–Feb 9th, 2017

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Rising temperatures, additional snow load, and strong winds will increase the danger ratings. Conservative route choices are in order.

Weather Forecast

A low pressure system will track across the south part of BC bringing rising freezing levels, significant snow-fall , and strong south and sw winds. Freezing levels rising to 1500 m in Lake Louise on Thursday. 20-30 cm of snow are forecasted to fall by Friday. The avalanche danger will increase through the end of the week.

Snowpack Summary

The recent storm has deposited 10-25 cm of storm snow throughout the area.  Strong winds from the Yoho Blow have been ripping through the Kicking Horse Pass, but outside this area the winds have generally been light except at the higher elevations. Generally the mid-pack is weak below 2000m and more settled above this elevation.

Avalanche Summary

Explosive control on Tuesday produced small results up to size 2 on Mt Bosworth and Mt Bourgeau.
On Wednesday morning a natural Class 3.5-4 avalanche was triggered on the Mt Stephen Road Avalanche Path. This was triggered at 2600m by a large serac fall and ran down to the bottom of the run-out. Debris on highway was 50m wide X 1.5m deep.

Confidence

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.