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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 23rd, 2023–Jan 24th, 2023

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

Regions

Glacier.

Strong SW winds have been blowing through Rogers Pass, rapidly building reactive wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded areas.

These new slabs need your respect, as they have the potential to overload the persistent slabs in the upper snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A field team on Connaught/Lookout triggered a sz 1 wind slab, which stepped down to the Jan 3 surface hoar. They also observed several sz 1 loose/dry avalanches on the N Face of MacDonald, running in extreme terrain.

Cheops North 4 ran sz 2 Monday morning, while Frequent Flyer ran sz 2 on Sat into the creek.

Lens Gully had a sz 2.5 run end path Mon morning.

Snowpack Summary

Reactive wind slabs are popping out at Tree-line and Alpine elevations, stepping down into the Jan 3 persistent weak layer.

The mid-pack facets are slowly rounding and gaining strength, while the basal facets and Nov 17 facet/SH/crust weakness are still reactive when isolated in snowpack tests.

Weather Summary

Unsettled weather follows Monday's cold front, bringing clouds and isolated flurries the next few days.

Tonight: mainly cloudy, flurries, trace snow, 400m FZL, moderate gusty SW winds

Tues: mainly cloudy, trace snow, Alp high -8*C, light/gusting mod W ridge winds, 900m FZL

Wed: mainly cloudy, isolated flurries, trace snow, Alp high -4*C, 1400m FZL, light W winds

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.