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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 16th, 2021–Dec 17th, 2021

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

Great skiing conditions continue with good snow coverage and reduced avalanche hazard. We are still watching for wind loading in steep alpine terrain, and keeping an eye on the Dec 2 crust as the snowpack develops.

Weather Forecast

Light NW winds, cold temperatures (below -20 C) and no new snow expected on Friday. There may be a slight inversion in the alpine. Saturday brings increasing winds and some additional snow but amounts are uncertain.

Snowpack Summary

15-25 cm of low density surface snow with limited wind slab development in the alpine. There is a Dec 2 rain crust present below 2200 m and down 40-60 cm with facets above and below which will be one to watch in the future. The Nov 5 crust/facet interface is found near the base of the snowpack. Snowpack depths at treeline are from 150 to 230 cm.

Avalanche Summary

Local ski areas had explosive controlled wind slabs up to size 2 in steep alpine features and were able to ski cut small lee loaded features. A size 3.5 natural avalanche failing on glacier ice above the Bow Hut approach occurred in the last 24 hrs. This appeared to be triggered by wind loading and shows some of the uncertainty in the snowpack.

Confidence

Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Saturday

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.