Avalanche hazard will rise with the temperature and freezing levels.
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure is bringing the heat for the weekend and into next week. Watch for freezing levels to rise.For the Columbia Icefield Area:Saturday Cloudy with sunny periods.Precipitation: Nil.Treeline temperature: High -4 C.Ridge wind west: 10 km/h.Freezing level: 1800 metres.
Snowpack Summary
Moist surface snow treeline and below and the alpine is heavily wind effected. Deep snowpack areas are relatively strong through most of the region. Shallow areas are weak, and will morph quickly to moist 'spring like' slab conditions from the surface down. With the persistent basal weakness, this could fail with the full depth of the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
On Friday several loose wet avalanches on steep, solar, rocky below treeline features and a windslab avalanche in the alpine on a cross-loaded south feature at 2500m Tuesday a group of skiers triggered a wind slab in the backcountry behind Marmot Basin. It was on a north alpine aspect with shallow snowpack, scree ground, and severely wind affected.
Problems
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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
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.