Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Akamina, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West, South Rockies.
Start with smaller features to evaluate the bonding of the new snow before advancing or committing to larger terrain.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported at the time of publishing on Friday.
On Thursday one large (size 2) wind slab was reported in the south of the region.
A few large (size 2) wind slab avalanches were triggered with explosives in the south of the region on Monday.
A rider accidentally triggered a small wind slab avalanche below treeline near Window Mountain on February 11th. The wind slab had formed further downslope than normal.
Snowpack Summary
Previous snow fall amounts between 10 to 20 cm varied over this region, diminishing closer to the continental divide.
Past moderate to strong southwest wind and current light to moderate northeast wind have formed wind slabs on all aspects and at all elevations. In sheltered spots, expect 30 to 50 cm over the thick rain crust from early February.
Below this crust, the shallow faceted snowpack is generally well consolidated. There are two crust layers, one in the midpack and another near the base of the snowpack, that have been unreactive.
Weather Summary
Friday Night
Mostly clear skies. 15 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.
Saturday
Clear skies. 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Sunday
Clear skies. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Monday
Cloudy skies, light flurries, 1-5 cm. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slabs may have formed further down the slope than normal, even halfway down.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5