Avalanche Forecast

Snowpack:

There is lots going on with regards to stability at this time of year. Currently within our snowpack we are finding windslabs in isolated alpine areas along ridgelines and crossloaded features but these windslabs are not that reactive and stubborn to trigger. Having said that, skiers should still be aware of this problem and be on guard for it as you travel. Two other big concerns now are also related to the time of year, spring. Cornices are large and looming over many features and since the heat, we have seen a few of them collapse triggerring small slabs on underlying slopes. In addition to the small slabs the cornice debris in and of it self if a big hazard coming down the slope. Now is not the time to be near these ball caps and be aware that even as you start your tour in the early morning, these features as the tops of peaks may already be in the sun. The other concern is loose wet avalanches. Loose wet avalanches begin commonly with the heat, first starting on solar aspects. Thin rocky areas that are steep and south facing are places where the snowpack will be most susceptible to this problem. A small loose wet avalanche may ultimately, step down to a deeper weak layer in isothermal snow triggerring a large avalanche. So be heads up. The best way to mitigate these problems is to start early and plan to be on north aspects where there still a winter snowpack.  

Avalanche Activity:

Numerous loose wet slides were observed on Wednesday with the heat as well as a few cornice collapses triggerring windslabs up to sz 2 on underlying slopes were seen. The deeper layers havent woken up yet but as the snowpack down lower gets more isothermal we can expect to see some deeper avalanches. Of note there was two recent avalanches in miners gully near Canmore that occurred at 0900am crossing well skied terrain.

The avalanche danger is variable and can range from Low to High. Travelling early in the day is recommended, as conditions can change rapidly in short periods of time due to daytime warming. Pay careful attention to the integrity of the surface crusts formed overnight and rising air temperatures during the day. Dry slab avalanche danger may also exist during spring snow storms. Field Observations for your area may be available at the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) Mountain Conditions Report Website: http://www.mountainconditions.com. More Spring Conditions Details - http://www.avalanche.ca/pages/static-page/spring-conditions

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Warm temperatures are forecast overnight with winds increase slightly out of the NE on Thursday. Important factors to consider at this time of year are quality of freeze overnight, aspect you plan on travelling on or under and time of day. Start early and be done early. Beat the heat!