Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 27th, 2024–Jan 28th, 2024

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, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Incoming warming may cause buried weak layers to become active and large avalanches to be rider-triggerable.

Seek out sheltered terrain without steep slopes above.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported by 4:30 pm on Saturday.

Several large (size 2-2.5) wind slab avalanches were triggered with explosives east of Elkford on Friday.

A few small (size 1-1.5) wind slab avalanches were triggered with explosives on Wednesday and Thursday.

Two large avalanches (size 2 and 3) occurred on Monday in the region's south. They failed on sugary facets down 30 to 50 cm.

Snowpack Summary

15 to 30 cm of recent snowfall continues to be redistributed by southwest wind. There is a layer of sugary facets that are buried 30-50 cm deep and in some places sits on a crust from December. This layer has been reactive in snowpack tests.

The lower snowpack contains a series of crusts and faceted snow that have been unreactive so far. Expect snow depth at treeline to be 100 to 150 cm.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with a trace of snow, southwest alpine wind 40 to 70 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C, freezing level 1800 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow or rain, southwest alpine wind 40 to 70 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C, freezing level 2250 m.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud with no new snow, west alpine wind 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature 5 °C, freezing level 3100 m.

Tuesday

Mostly clear skies with no new snow, southwest alpine wind 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature 5 °C, freezing level dropping to 2200 m by the afternoon.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.

Problems

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.

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.