Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Apr 6 – 7, 2013Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Look out for spring hazards such as glide crack releases, cornice fall and loose wet avalanches.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Recent snow and gusty winds may have formed windslabs in lee features in the alpine

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Loose wet slides may get bigger if they dig into isothermal snow

Confidence

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Sunday

Weather Forecast

Overnight and Sunday:  Saturday's snow/rain should taper off by the evening.  Another system will be tracking into the US northwest this evening and could bring some light precipitation to the southern part of the South Rockies for late Sunday.  The cooling trend continues with overnight freezing levels reaching the valley bottom overnight, but could rise again to 2000m on Sunday during the day.  Winds overnight moderate from the west, changing to light from the southwest on Sunday.Monday: No forecast precipitation / Light southeast winds / Daytime freezing levels drop to1200m Tuesday: No forecast precipitation / Light southwest winds / Rising freezing levels, up to 2000m in the afternoon

Avalanche Summary

A size 2 glide release on a below treeline, north east aspect of Mount Fernie occurred on Saturday.Loose wet slides continue out of steep terrain.

Snowpack Summary

The cooling trend means that snow has fallen in the high alpine in the forecast region.  Gusty southwest winds may have left windslabs in the lee of ridge features.  In the alpine, the new snow overlies moist/rain soaked snow on all aspects.  The March 16th crust may still exist on more northerly aspects and large triggers such as a wet slide or cornice drop may cause this layer to fail.  In the treeline and below treeline zones, snow is generally isothermal on all aspects.

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