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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 11th, 2024–Apr 14th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Waterton Lakes, Waterton.

A big warm-up is on the way for the weekend. Afternoon temps are forecast to rise close to +20 in the valley. During this period, avoid all avalanche terrain when temps rise in the afternoons. Start early and finish early, avalanche hazard reflects peak daytime warming.

Confidence

No Rating

Avalanche Summary

Natural windslabs to size 1.5 observed in the alpine and upper treeline and natural wet loose on solar slopes to size 1 observed this week.

Snowpack Summary

Alpine - Recent SW winds have formed thin stubborn windslabs in lee features. Fetches are scoured to rocks and old crusts. Feb 03 crust/facets may still exist at high elevations and are down 100-120 cms

Tree Line - Wind affected snow at this elevation has been settling with warm temps. This overlies a well-settled lower snowpack.

Below Treeline - Moist faceted snow to ground with a new surface crust forming overnight. Most solar aspects are now below threshold for avalanches

Weather Summary

Fri

An alpine high of +5°C with broken skies. Winds moderate SW

Sat

Mostly clear skies with an alpine high of +10°C. Light SW winds

Sun

Clear with an alpine high of +12°C. Light SW winds, little overnight refreeze expected.

For more info: Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

Problems

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.

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.