Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 5th, 2024 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs and Deep Persistent Slabs.
MW,
Avalanche Canada
Don't let the nice weather push you towards consequential terrain. The snowpack structure remains weak and requires conservative decision making.
Summary
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
A widespread avalanche cycle occurred last week as a result of the Feb 29th storm. Natural avalanches upto size 3.5 have been observed on the Icefields Parkway - all aspects in the alpine & at tree line running to the end of avalanche paths. Likewise avalanche control along the Icefields Parkway on Friday had several sympathetic avalanche releases from a single explosion.
No new avalanche activity observed on the Icefields Parkway or Malign Lake Road over the past 2 days.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 50 cm of new snow fell during last weeks storm with strong winds, creating wind slabs. Wind slabs sit over a layer of faceted snow above a 1-3cm thick crust that is down 35-60 cm. This persistent weak layer is consistently reactive in snowpit tests and is not going away anytime soon. The mid-pack is faceted with basal depth hoar and well developed facets near ground. HS ranges from 80 to 150cm.
Weather Summary
The Mountain Weather Forecast is available at Avalanche Canada https://www.avalanche.ca/weather/forecast
Wednesday Sunny with cloudy periods. No precipitation Alpine high -11 °C. Wind west 10-20 km/h. Mild inversion on Icefields Parkway.
Thursday A mix of sun and cloud. High -11 °C. Wind west: 15 km/h.
Friday Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Precipitation: Trace - 2cm. High -8 °C. Wind SW 20-30 km/h.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain, large avalanches may reach the end of run out zones.
- If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong winds that accompanied the +50cm storm have produced wind slabs in the alpine and treeline. Moderate - strong wind throughout the week will continue to develop this problem.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
This problem layer is the crust and facets created by early February's warm spell. It is down 30-80 cm in the snowpack and is a 1-10 cm thick crust.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Deep Persistent Slabs
The base of the snowpack is inherently weak and untrustworthy. Tickling this deep layer would result in a high consequence avalanche. Any avalanche in the upper snowpack has the potential to step down to the base of the snowpack.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 6th, 2024 4:00PM
