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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 15th, 2025–Apr 16th, 2025

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Cooler temperatures are forecast for Wednesday, but pay attention to solar radiation and how quickly the day is warming up. Some loose wet avalanches may occur if day is warmer then forecasted. Plan on starting and finishing your day early.

Confidence

No Rating

Avalanche Summary

Several small wet loose avalanches out of steep solar terrain were reported on Tuesday afternoon.

On Saturday, skiers in the Ferris Glacier area remote-triggered a wind slab 60 cm deep on NE alpine terrain at ~2750 m.

On Friday, skiers remotely triggered a wind slab at ~2850 m on St. Nicholas size 2.5 that stepped down to deeper layers in a rocky area, and occurred on steep, unsupported ENE facing terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Crusts on solar aspects to ridgetop, with crusts on all aspects at treeline and below. 20-40 cm of dry snow on north-facing alpine slopes with some wind slabs in alpine lee areas.

A stiff midpack sits over a weaker layer of Jan facets in some places, but this is mainly a concern in thin snowpack areas. On all but high north aspects, crusts in the upper snowpack overlay this midpack slab. If these crusts are thick, and remain frozen, they provide good strength over the weakness.

Weather Summary

Wednesday will bring a mix of sun and cloud and slightly cooler temperatures with freezing levels around 18-1900m. Winds forecast to be light to moderate from the northwest. Friday will bring clear skies and higher freezing levels.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Wind slabs are isolated, but may remain reactive.

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.