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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 11th, 2022–Mar 12th, 2022

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, 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.

Regions

Purcells.

Carefully assess the wind slab hazard as you gain elevation. New wind slabs could form throughout the day.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Friday night: trace amounts of new snow with moderate to strong southwest winds. Low of -12 at 1800m in the north and low of -3 at 1800m in the south of the region.

Saturday: a mix of sun and cloud with light flurries bringing up to 5cm of new snow. Light southwest winds with freezing levels rising to around 1700m.

Sunday: cloudy with light precipitation bringing trace amounts of snow at higher elevations. Freezing level rising to 1900m. Light southwest winds.

Monday: light flurries bringing trace amounts of snow to higher elevations. Light to moderate southwest winds and freezing levels rising to 1900m.

Avalanche Summary

No notable avalanches were reported on Thursday in the region.

On Wednesday one skier triggered size 1 wind slab avalanche was reported. This avalanche was triggered on a south facing slope at treeline.

Human triggered avalanche activity has largely tapered off since Friday when several riders triggered storm slabs and loose dry avalanches in the recent snow, including this remotely triggered size 1.5 near Golden.

Snowpack Summary

Wind slab could be found on all aspects at treeline and above.Moist snow will likely be observed below treeline.

The late February layer is down 20 to 40cm. This layer consists of a crust on solar aspects and all aspects at lower elevations. This layer presents as facets on northerly terrain and surface hoar in sheltered treeline features.

A layer of surface hoar from late January has not produced recent avalanche activity but it can still be identified 40-50 cm deep near Golden.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.