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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 14th, 2025–Feb 15th, 2025

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

Regions

Akamina, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East.

Small, isolated wind slabs may remain triggerable at upper elevations.For the best riding, seek out areas of soft snow sheltered from the wind.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, a skier near Castle Mountain accidentally triggered a small size 1 wind slab in a fan feature on a northeast-facing alpine slope. This indicates that triggering wind slabs remains possible on isolated features. Assess your line carefully for wind slabs, especially when traveling in high-consequence terrain.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of around 3 cm of new snow fell Thursday night. Previous strong to extreme westerly wind has scoured slopes in the alpine and formed wind slabs in leeward terrain.

20 to 40 cm of mostly faceted snow overlies a weak layer from late January. This layer consists of a crust on sun-exposed slopes and a layer of surface hoar on all other aspects.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 5 to 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and clouds. 15 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with flurries up to 3 cm. 5 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Monday

A mix of sun and clouds. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -17 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for slabs before you commit to it.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.

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.