Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Apr 23rd, 2014 4:00PM
The alpine rating is Wind Slabs, Loose Wet and Deep Persistent Slabs.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includePay attention to how strong the overnight freeze is and how quickly it warms during the day. Start early and finish before it warms up. Cornice failures continue to occur, be mindful of overhead hazard.
Summary
Weather Forecast
Freezing levels to valley bottom tonight and some clear skies will help the overnight freeze. Cloudy skies forecasted tomorrow with mid mountain highs around -2 along the Divide. Periods of sun can be expected along the eastern part of the region.
Snowpack Summary
Cooler day today. Windslabs developing in the alpine 20-40 cm thick sitting on a crust. Freezing levels to valley bottom tonight with periods of clear skies. Moist snow in afternoon on solar aspects up to ridgetops and to 2400 m on polar aspects. Random patches of isothermal wallowing in thinner snowpack areas below treeline.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed in patrols today down to Field and up to Bow Summit. Monday was warmer with more sun and we saw a loose snow avalanche cycle up to Class 2 running out of steep rocky terrain through most of the region. Debris generally ran to top of runouts. No slab avalanches observed.
Confidence
Problems
Wind Slabs
Isolated windslabs 20-40 cm thick were found in the lees of features in the Bow Summit & Lake Louise region. They rest on an old temperature crust. Propagations up to 20 m observed.
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading have created wind slabs.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Wet
Loose wet avalanches are possible in the afternoon as a result of day time heating. Monitor how thick the crusts are and how quickly they break down during the day.
- Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of rain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Deep Persistent Slabs
Although unlikely, it is still possible to trigger a slab avalanche on one of the deep persistent layers. Skier triggering of this layer is more likely in shallow snowpack areas.
- Be aware of the potential for full depth avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Apr 24th, 2014 4:00PM