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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 24th, 2022–Jan 27th, 2022

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

Regions

Waterton Lakes.

New snow will offer a slight refresh to the skiing. Be aware the most recent crust is just below and may prove challenging skiing and a slippery bed surface.

The Best turns will likely be had on mellow slopes.

Weather Forecast

Tues: Cloudy with no forecast precip. Winds switching from N back to S-SW and increasing to moderate through the day. Alpine high -6, FL valley bottom.

Wed: Cloudy with an alpine high of -4. Strong winds tapering in the afternoon. FL valley bottom

Thurs: Clearing with an alpine high of -5. Moderate winds and valley bottom FL. No forecast precip.

Snowpack Summary

10-15cm of storm snow is being redistributed by L-M winds into new windslabs ALP/TL. Jan 18 crust extends all aspects up to 2000m. ALP consists of hard windslab in lees and stripped to ground in scoured areas. Well settled midpack over facets above Dec 4 crust down 150-200 cm. A 20-60 cm thick Nov melt freeze crust complex completes the snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

No new naturals observed during today's small storm. Two small natural windslabs observed in treeline terrain on Saturday.

Confidence

Wind speed and direction is uncertain

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.