Avalanche Forecast
North Columbia
A Special Public Avalanche Warning is in effect. Copy this link to view details: http://bit.ly/2nSOUyX
Avalanche Problem 1: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Minimize exposure to sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
- Avoid traveling in runout zones. Avalanches have the potential to run to valley floor.
- Avoid steep convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
Avalanche Problem 2: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Recent north winds have left behind wind slabs and cornices on lee slopes.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Travel on ridgetops to avoid wind slabs on slopes below.
- If triggered, wind slabs may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
- Give cornices a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
Avalanche Summary
A very large, widespread avalanche cycle was observed on Thursday, with a few events continuing on Friday. Slopes of all aspects and elevations ran full path and reached valley floor. In some cases, mature timber was smashed. These failed on all of the persistent weak layers discussed in the snowpack section. Avalanches involving only the recent storm snow were also very large. Explosives continued to produce very large persistent slabs on Saturday.
The natural cycle has wound down, but human-triggering remains a real concern. Avalanches are most likely to be triggered with a large load (like a snowmobile landing a jump, a cornice fall, or a solar-triggered avalanche stepping down), or from a thin-spot trigger point, like around trees or rocks. You might be surprised by how large an avalanche can be triggered and how far it could run.
Snowpack Summary
Strong north to north-westerly winds have shifted 25-70 cm recent storm snow into wind slabs on lee slopes. This adds to an existing storm slab that's 1-2.5 m deep from the last couple of weeks' accumulation.
Several persistent weak layers make up a troublesome snowpack. In the top 1.5-2.5 m of the snowpack, two surface hoar layers buried in January can be found. Expect to find one or other of these on all aspects and elevations.
Deeper in the snowpack (around 200 cm deep) is a facet/crust/surface hoar layer from December, most prevalent at and below treeline.
Near the base of the snowpack is a crust/facet combo, most likely to be triggered from thin spots in the alpine.
All of these layers have produced large avalanches recently. The wide distribution and ongoing reactivity of these layers suggests that avoidance through choosing simple terrain is the best strategy.
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Mainly sunny, with increasing clouds late in the day. Light winds. Treeline temperature near -10.
TUESDAY: 10-15 cm snow. Moderate westerly winds. Treeline temperature near -5.
WEDNESDAY: Flurries. Light winds. Treeline temperature near -8.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
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Several troublesome layers exist in the snowpack. Although the likelihood of triggering a persistent slab has gone down, the consequences remain very high.