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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2016–Feb 22nd, 2016

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Continue to use caution in big terrain TL and above. Cooler temperatures have tightened things in BTL.

Weather Forecast

After a cooler day Sunday and some strong solar input, two weak fronts will reach the divide Monday bringing trace amounts of precip. Winds should remain light westerly. Overnight Monday a strong ridge will start to move into the area, skies will clear by midday Tuesday and winds shift to the North. Temps will drop but the sun will be quite strong.

Snowpack Summary

The Jan 6 layer of surface hoar/facets is gaining strength in the region and is down 120cm at treeline , producing hard to no result in tests. A layer down approx. 50cm (Feb 11) contains surface hoar in isolated locations at treeline producing moderate results. Well settled snowpack overall. Wind slabs formed in exposed alpine locations.

Avalanche Summary

2 wind slab avalanches were observed yesterday on Mt. Field at 2300-2400m. These were size 1.5 to 2 in un-skiable terrain and occurred in the last 36 hours.

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.