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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 16th, 2024–Feb 17th, 2024

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

Regions

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

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.

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.