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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 13th, 2024–Feb 14th, 2024

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Glacier.

Pockets of weak, faceted snow linger along Alpine ridge crests this year. Adjust your expectations, sharpen your route-finding skills, and lower your risk tolerance to avoid a ride in a slide.

Cold temperatures are forecast. It'll be especially chilly in the shade or when the sun goes down. Pack an extra warm clothing layer!

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Loose, dry sluffing to sz 2 was observed in steep alpine terrain today. Expect heavy rider-triggered sluffing ontop of the crust.

Isolated slab avalanches (Avalanche Mtn last week, Sapphire Col on Saturday) continue to surprise folks from shallow snowpack areas in the Alpine. Thin snowpack areas, which in normal years have over 3m of snow by now, need to be treated with more caution this year.

Snowpack Summary

20-40cms of low density storm snow sits on top of a robust & supportive crust. This crust exists below 2500m on all aspects.

Recent winds have created soft windslab and wind effect at ridgetop and there is a thin suncrust on steep solar aspects.

Below Tree-line expect firm crusts, widespread frozen avalanche debris, and shallow snowpack hazards.

Warm temperatures have rounded and strengthened the mid and lower snowpack.

Weather Summary

A high pressure system will bring cold Arctic air into the region. Expect cold temps and clear skies.

Tonight: Clear periods, nil precip, Alp low -14°C, light NE winds, freezing level (FZL) valley bottom.

Wed: Sunny with cloudy periods, Alp high -13°C, light E winds, FZL valley bottom.

Thurs: Sunny, Alp high -15°C, winds E: 25km/hr, FZL valley bottom.

Fri: Sunny, Alp high -7, winds SE 10 km/hr, FZL 700m

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull with sluffing in steep terrain, especially above cliffs and terrain traps.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.