Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2021–Mar 11th, 2021

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

Regions

South Rockies.

Buried weak layers remain possible to be triggered, where they still exist. Be cautious on sun-exposed slopes and around cornices during the heat of the day.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 2 to 5 cm, 10 to 20 km/h west wind, alpine temperature -9 C.

THURSDAY: Clear skies, 20 km/h west wind, alpine temperature -5 C, freezing level rising to 1600 m.

FRIDAY: Clear skies, 10 km/h northwest wind, alpine temperature -1 C, freezing level rising to 2000 m.

SATURDAY: Clear skies, 10 km/h south wind, alpine temperature 2 C, freezing level 2600 m.

Avalanche Summary

New new avalanches were reported for the area on Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of snow overlies a thick melt-freeze crust in many areas, with the exception being on north aspects above around 1700 m. Old wind slabs may exist on northerly aspects at alpine and treeline elevations, whereas windward slopes have been scoured to rocks or a hard crust. On solar aspects and below the freezing level, the snow may moisten during the heat of the day. Cornices may also weaken over the day.

Around 30 to 60 cm of snow sits above a persistent weak layer of sugary faceted grains that was buried in mid-February. There have been a handful of avalanches that released on this layer in the past few weeks. There is another persistent weak layer that was buried at the end of January, found around 50 to 80 cm deep. This layer consists of feathery surface hoar, facets, and/or a hard melt-freeze crust. Periodic avalanches continue to be triggered on these layers by riders, particularly where a stiff wind slab sits above them. Check out this MIN that shows the positioning of the layers in the snowpack near Crowsnest Pass.

Weak faceted snow and a decomposing melt-freeze crust can be found near the base of the snowpack. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a persistent slab.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.

Problems

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.