What does the scale above mean to you as a skier or rider in the Gulmarg backcountry? Read more here.
Snowpack Discussion
Cooler and cloudy today. Moderate avalanche danger in the alpine today. Human triggered avalanches possible, natural avalanches unlikely.
The top 100-170 cms of snow is sitting on a persistent weak crust layer. It is possible to trigger this layer (called a persistent slab), yet with today’s cool temperatures and lack of a new snow load, is unlikely. Warm days and cool nights since our last storm has bonded the layers of instability within the upper level storm snow, including at the new snow/old snow interface. The most likely areas to trigger this persistent slab layer are near rocks and shallow areas of the snowpack. Normal backcountry skiing caution is advised 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.
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Avalanche Problem – 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 10/2/2016:
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.