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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 8th, 2018–Apr 9th, 2018

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

Regions

South Rockies.

New snow and rising freezing levels means elevated avalanche danger for the next few days. Choose conservative terrain and be especially wary of overhead hazards as the day warms or the sun shines.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Ridge wind moderate to strong, west. Alpine temperature near -2. Freezing level 1000 m.MONDAY: Mostly sunny. Ridge wind moderate to strong, west. Alpine temperature near +3. Freezing level 2200 m.TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Ridge wind moderate to strong, southwest. Alpine temperature near +4. Freezing level 2600 m.WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Ridge wind moderate to strong, west. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 2000 m.

Avalanche Summary

There were no reported of avalanches in the region following Saturday's storm, however near Fernie; widespread storm slab and loose wet avalanche activity up to size 2.5 was reported on Sunday. The new snow was reactive to skier and explosive triggers on all aspects above 1400 m. And one natural size 2.5 was reported on an easterly aspect at 1550 m.On Friday both natural and easily skier-triggered wind slab releases up to size 1.5 were reported in the southern part of the region, while several loose dry avalanches were reported in the Crowsnest Pass area. Read recent MIN report here. Thursday in the Elkford area, recent small (size 1) loose/dry avalanches were reported on northerly aspects while loose/wet were observed on solar aspects. In the southeast corner of the region skier-triggered loose/dry avalanches were reported to be running far on a recently buried crust.

Snowpack Summary

With about 20 cm on new snow on Sunday morning, 20-40 cm of snow sits above a variety of crusts on all but high north aspects. Northern parts of the region have less new snow than southern parts. Wind has formed hard slabs in lee features, and in some cases the snow may be poorly bonded to the crusts.Multiple crusts exist within the top 100 cm of the snowpack. Some parts of the region may have a surface hoar layer roughly 60 cm deep on north aspects at treeline.A well settled midpack sits above sugary facets in many parts of the region, especially thin snowpack areas.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.