What does the scale above mean to you as a skier or rider in the Gulmarg backcountry? Read more here.
Snowpack Discussion
Moderate avalanche danger in the alpine today. Human triggered avalanches possible, natural avalanches unlikely. Wet loose slides are possible today on steep solar aspects during the warmest hours of the day today (12pm-3:30pm). Avoid steeper terrain on these aspects at or near treeline during the warmest hours today, keeping in mind that the avalanches themselves aren’t the danger here, but the fact that if you triggered a wet loose avalanche it may carry you into terrain traps (trees, rocks, cliffs, gullies). Less likely to be triggered are persistent slab avalanches on the mid-pack persistent weak layer, but this problem should continue to be addressed within your backcountry skiing group, keeping in mind that what will bring this layer back into concern currently is new significant snow load or a strong wind event that loads the snowpack. Choose your aspects and terrain wisely today.
Choose to ride in groups in the forests of Gulmarg. http://www.deepsnowsafety.org/index.php/. We now have enough snow in the conifer forests above 3200 meters for skiers and riders to get trapped in tree wells. Read more about this phenomenon in the link above. It causes several fatalities each year in other ski regions of the globe.
Avalanche Problem #1-Wet Loose
Problem Description
Release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. They generally move slowly, but can contain enough mass to cause significant damage to trees, cars or buildings. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
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Avalanche Problem #2 – Persistent Slab
Problem Description –
Release of a cohesive layer of soft to hard 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.
The best ways to manage the risk from Persistent Slabs is to make conservative terrain choices. They can be triggered by light loads and weeks after the last storm. The slabs often propagate in surprising and unpredictable ways. This makes this problem difficult to predict and manage and requires a wide safety buffer to handle the uncertainty.
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Weather Forecast
Gulmarg Ski Area (green zone) Timings for 9/2/2016:
Phase 1 – 0830 – 1630 (last cabin at 1600)
Phase 2 – 0900 – 1600 (last cabin at 1530)
Chair Lift – 0900 – 1600 (last chair at 1530)
Beacon Training Center on Merry Shoulder is OPEN with 2 BEACONS. Beacon Training Center in Gulmarg meadow across from Hotel Hilltop is OPEN with 1 BEACON. Come by Gulmarg ski patrol base at mid mountain to learn the location of the beacon training area on Merry Shoulder and hone your search skills and times.
Next avalanche talk is Wednesday, 10 February, 2016 at 7:30pm at Hotel Hilltop. Hotel Hilltop is located across from the ice skating rink in Gulmarg meadow. Talks will continue every Wednesday night at 7:30 pm through 30 March, 2016.