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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 18th, 2013–Jan 19th, 2013

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Little Yoho.

Weather Forecast

Benign weather forecasted for the weekend.  Thankfully the winds will ease off to light to moderate WNW, may see a trace of snow tomorrow, and otherwise expect partly cloudy to sunny skies for the weekend with alpine temperatures in the -6 range. 

Snowpack Summary

30cm of snow sits over the Jan 6th interface (surface hoar in kootenay it's worth to dig down to check on the interface in a few places). Few avalanches have occurred on this interface, it may need more load. There is a strong midpack West of the divide.  East side has been wind hammered leaving wind crust/slab over weaker snow layers.

Avalanche Summary

No natural activity was observed on a field trip into the backcountry of Yoho NP. Winds were howling once again at ridge-top from Lake Louise and east, but poor visibility prevented decent observations of high alpine start-zones. Widespread wind-effect was noted above tree-line. It may be hard to find good skiing in the alpine until the next storm.

Confidence

Problems

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.

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.