Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Unlikely
- Size
- 1–2.5
Wind slabs may have formed further down the slope than normal, even halfway down.
Avalanche forecast
View on mapSouth Rockies
Feb 15 – 16, 2024Avalanche Canada
Archived · expired 3 years ago
Avalanche danger
Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Highlights
Start with smaller features to evaluate the bonding of the new snow before advancing or committing to larger terrain.
Avalanche problems
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported at the time of publishing on Wednesday.
A few large (size 2) wind slab avalanches were triggered with explosives in the south on Monday.
A rider accidentally triggered a small wind slab avalanche below treeline near Window Mountain on Sunday. The wind slab had formed further downslope than normal.
Snowpack Summary
10 to 20 cm of light, dry snow fell near the Continental Divide on Tuesday with less as you go west.
Previous moderate to strong southwest wind and current light to moderate northeast wind have developed wind slabs on all aspects and at all elevations. In sheltered spots, expect 30 to 50 cm over the thick rain crust from early February.
Below this crust, the shallow faceted snowpack is generally well consolidated. There are two crust layers, one in the midpack and another near the base of the snowpack, that have been unreactive.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy, light flurries 1 to 5 cm. 15 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Thursday
Clear skies. 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.
Friday
Clear skies. 15 to 25 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
Saturday
Clear skies. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.