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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 27th, 2025–Feb 28th, 2025

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

Regions

North Rockies, Sugarbowl, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Robson, Tumbler.

Recent avalanche activity indicates an unstable snowpack & remote-triggering remains a serious concern.

Retreat to more conservative terrain if you encounter signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wed: Several large natural and skier-triggered avalanches occurred up to size 2.5.

Tues: Riders remote-triggered slabs in the Torpy (photo below)

Mon: Several natural and human-triggered avalanches were reported. A few were remote-triggered, indicating a touchy weak layer.

Looking forward: Continued avalanche activity indicates that storm slabs and persistent weak layers remain primed for human triggering.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 20 cm of new snow on Thursday, accompanied by strong southwest alpine winds built dense and reactive new slabs. In many areas the new snow was wet or fell as rain, creating a moist surface or crust. Below the new snow, 20 to 50 cm of settling storm snow from earlier in the week is sitting on a weak layer of surface hoar or facets in many areas. Additional persistent weak layers are buried between 60 to 90 cm. These consist of more surface hoar and faceted grains, and/or a hard crust. These persistent layers continue to be source of concern and have potential for large step-down avalanches.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Clear. 50 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level around 1600 m.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow / light rain below 1500 m. 35 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level around 1600 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow / possible rain below 1200 m. 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level around 1400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.
  • Stay away from steep slopes, open slopes, and convex rolls at and below treeline where weak layers may be preserved.
  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Use small, low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of 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.