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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 8th, 2025–Apr 9th, 2025

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Time to refresh on the Spring Conditions hazard rating. For Wed - Thurs, expect a daily melt-freeze cycle. Hazard ratings reflect the highest danger for the day.

Powder exists on high north aspects. The persistent problem is a concern for terrain selection on north aspects & south aspects when crusts melt.

Start & finish early!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches were observed or reported on Monday or Tuesday.

In the adjacent forecast zone, a skier crossing the slope triggered a size 1 slab that failed on the persistent basal facets just below Peyto Lake viewpoint. Sunshine patrol also a slab avalanche, likely triggered by a loose wet avalanche, that scrubbed to ground resulting in a size 2.5 avalanche on an alpine SSE aspect. Similar activity could be expected in thinner snowpack areas in Yoho.

Snowpack Summary

Light wind effect in the alpine. On alpine north aspects 15-30 cm of dry settled snow sits over the Mar 27 crust that exists to ~2500 m. On solar aspects sun crusts are present to ridgetop with moist snow later in the day. A supportive surface crust exists in most places below treeline.

70-130 cm of firm snow sits over the Jan facet layer which remains a concern in thin areas. In deeper areas the lower snowpack is well consolidated. Treeline snowpack depths range from 150 to 250 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday - A mix of sun and cloud with scattered flurries and moderate SW wind. There is some variation in the predicted cloud cover and temperatures between the weather models and across the region. Wednesday night, we may see a reasonable freeze with clearing skies and treeline temperatures dipping below -10°C

Thursday - mostly sunny

See the weather table for more details

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, sun-exposed slopes when the air temperature is warm or when solar radiation is strong.
  • Start your day early and be out of avalanche terrain during the heat of the day.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.