Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 16th, 2024–Apr 17th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

New snow, Warm temperatures, variable conditions out there at the moment. assess the conditions carefully.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No field teams out today.

Snowpack Summary

Tuesday's storm brought warm temps and rain along the spray valley with above 0° temps in the afternoon. Places like Aster lake and the highwood received about 30cm of snow and slightly cooler temperatures. This will sit on top of a melt freeze crust everywhere except the highest of North aspects. The deeper layers are still a concern where the snowpack is thin or when the crusts break down.

Weather Summary

Tuesday storm cycle hit the more southern part of the range. Spray valley got warmer temps and rain, not great. Wednesday will see a mix of sun and cloud, day time high of -9 and 25-40km/h North wind. Freezing levels to 1400m

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be cautious of sluffing.
Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.