Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 29th, 2020 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Deep Persistent Slabs.
mark herbison,
Parks Canada
Sustained winds along with new snow will keep the alpine hazard elevated. Limit your exposure to overhead hazards like cornices and remain cautious in thin snowpack areas where the basal weakness remains a concern.
Great skiing in sheltered areas
Summary
Weather Forecast
Mainly cloudy on Sunday with isolated flurries, West winds gusting up to 60km/hr and an alpine high of -12. Continued strong winds on Monday into Tuesday with small amounts of snow forecasted.
Snowpack Summary
10-20cm of new snow with moderate SW winds forming new wind slab in the alpine down to tree line. Watch for buried sun crust on steep solar aspects. The Feb 1 rain crust is down 30-60 cm and present below 1900 m. In thin snow pack areas a dense mid-pack sits over a weak, faceted base. Thick snowpack areas have a denser base with few weaknesses.
Avalanche Summary
Large cornice failures reported on Friday from the Crowfoot Glacier area, some of which pulled pockets of wind slab on the slopes below.
Suspect some natural avalanche activity on Saturday with recent snow and wind inputs, but no new observations due to poor visibility.
Confidence
Problems
Wind Slabs
New wind slab development in the alpine and exposed areas at tree line. Expect these to be reactive to human triggering in the immediate lee of terrain features.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets while approaching and climbing ice routes.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Deep Persistent Slabs
Avalanche activity on the basal facets has slowed down but the weakness in the snowpack remains a concern. These are hard to predict, but are most likely in areas with a thin snowpack (<130cm) where the basal facets and depth hoar are prominent.
- Use caution in thin snowpack areas.
- Pay attention to overhead hazards like cornices which could easily trigger the deep persistent slab.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 1st, 2020 4:00PM
