Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 19th, 2024–Apr 20th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

North aspects are skiing great at the moment. Watch for surface sluffing on steeper terrain. When the sun comes out, observe the changing snowpack on those aspects and plan your touring accordingly to avoid exposing yourself to a sunny baking slope.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Field teams out in the Commonwealth loop today. No new avalanche activity was observed. Surface snow was sluffing easily when skiing steeper lines.

Snowpack Summary

Snow from Tuesday has provided a great refresh to the ski quality. North aspects are skiing amazingly right now. This recent snow overlies a strong crust and is bonding well except at higher elevations where it is sluffing easily. You may find the odd windslab in very specific terrain. The deeper persistent weak layers are still a concern where the snowpack is thin or when the crusts break down with direct solar radiation and/or daytime heating.

Weather Summary

Saturday should be another great day! Low of -11 and a mix of sun and cloud throughout the day. Temps will rise to -1° and freezing levels to 2400m. Winds will be 15-30km/h out of the SouthWest

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.

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.