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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 23rd, 2025–Mar 24th, 2025

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

Regions

South Rockies, Akamina, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Avalanches are possible on steep, rocky, and wind-affected slopes due to wind slabs and buried weak layers.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, numerous large natural slab avalanches were reported in this MIN from Mear Lake. Some of them are suspected to have run on buried weak layers.

Explosive-triggered storm slabs were also reported up to size 2 and shooting cracks showed signs of instability in wind-affected storm snow near Castle.

Snowpack Summary

Small amounts of new snow bring storm totals to around 20 cm. This snow has likely formed wind slabs on lee aspects at treeline and above.

Approximately 40 to 50 cm of snow sits on a crust, except on high-elevation north and east-facing slopes.

A persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January is buried 50 to 100 cm deep. It is most likely to be triggered on steep, rocky, convex slopes on northerly and easterly aspects at treeline and above.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow, light rain below 2000 m. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level rising to 2100 m.

Monday

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow, light rain below 2100 m. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.

Tuesday

5 to 10 cm of snow above 2100 m overnight then partly clearing skies in the afternoon. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level rising to 2700 m.

Wednesday

Sunny. 10 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +5 °C. Freezing level rising to 3200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

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.