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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 9th, 2023–Feb 10th, 2023

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

Regions

Cirrus-Wilson, Icefields.

Up to 10cm of snow with continuing strong winds is forecasted for the Icefields region through Friday, and will keep the avalanche hazard elevated over the next few days.

Wednesday's explosive control near Parker Ridge resulted in numerous avalanches, including several large avalanches stepping down to ground. Keep your terrain choices conservative and pay attention to your overhead hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several size 3 natural avalanches out of alpine features have been observed in the last few days.

Avalanche control with explosives on Wednesday resulted in numerous avalanches with several of them being size 3 running to the bottom of the avalanche paths.

Don't forget to post avalanche observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Around 20 to 30cm of snow fell in the Icefields area during the storm. Strong south west winds have created new wind slabs in the alpine and exposed tree line. This new snow adds to 20cm of settled snow from early February. Generally, the mid and bottom of the snowpack is weak facets with depth hoar at the base. The snowpack ranges from 60 to 140cm.

Weather Summary

A weather system moving through Thursday night and into Friday could bring up to 10cm with strong winds.

Detailed weather forecasts from Avalanche Canada: https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

Problems

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.

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.

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.