Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 15th, 2024–Apr 16th, 2024

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 unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Winter will make an appearance once again. Cold temperatures and up to 20+ cm of snow on Tuesday. If you do get skiing, be cautious of the sluffing in steeper terrain as the snow will likely not bond well with the colder temps

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Teams started early today and were out of the Field by 11am. No new avalanches observed, but continued evidence of loose wet on solar aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Monday morning had a good radiation freeze and locked in the snowpack well where previously moist from the high freezing levels. This was breaking down on east aspects by 10am. It's very much a spring snowpack up to about 2400m. Above that there are still layers, including the Feb persistent layer and the deep basal layers.

Weather Summary

We are entering a spring storm cycle. Monday night will see a drastic change in the weather and flurries starting. Tuesday morning current models anticipate 17 cm of snow throughout the day, increasing winds to 50km/h out of the NorthWest and cooling temperatures down to -8. Wednesday the sun will try and appear as the cold are descends on the region. Low temps of -15.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be cautious of sluffing.
Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.