Avalanche forecast

Lizard-Flathead

Feb 28 – 29, 2024Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Verify the forecast with your local conditions. As snow accumulates on Wednesday, both natural and human-triggered avalanches may become likely.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3.5

    Weak faceted grains have formed above and below a widespread crust that is buried by 50 to 100 cm.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

    Snow continues to accumulate atop various potential weak layers and good sliding surfaces. Expect slab size and reactivity to increase in wind-loaded terrain features.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural and explosive-triggered avalanches, up to size 2, failing on the buried crust/facet combination occurred throughout the region on Monday.

A fatal avalanche incident occurred on Saturday near Gardiner Creek. It is believed that the same layer of facets on a crust was the failure layer. You can read more details here.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 30 to 50 cm of recent snowfall has buried a variety of potential weak layers, including sun crusts on south-facing slopes and faceted snow or surface hoar in north-facing terrain.

A widespread crust formed in early February is buried by 50 to 100 cm. In some areas, weak faceted grains have formed above and/or below the crust.

The remaining snowpack is generally well-settled, with no current concerns.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy with 0 to 3 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 30 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Friday

Friday with 2 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.

Regions covered