Avalanche forecast

Waterton Lakes

Jan 23 – 27, 2019Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

New windslabs may propagate further than expected on buried suncrust and surface hoar layers.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Southwest through northwest winds have formed thin wind slabs over a crust / surface hoar layer and may propagate farther than expected. Dig down and investigate the bond of new snow before committing to your line.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    This layer likely requires a large trigger. Be cautious when transitioning from thick to thin snowpack areas

Weather Forecast

Thursday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Moderate west winds. Alpine high -7Friday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Moderate west winds. Alpine high -7Saturday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Moderate southwest winds. Freezing level is uncertain with models predicting anywhere between 1500 and 2200m

Snowpack Summary

30cm of recently wind affected snow has gradually loaded either a suncrust below 2000m on solar aspects or spotty surface hoar in sheltered areas between 1600 and 1900m. This may be a problem layer when we see more snow. The midpack is strong in deep snowpack areas, but the facets lingering at the bottom remain a concern in thinner areas.

Avalanche Summary

Skier controlled wind slabs to 1 were reported in the Castle region yesterday.

Confidence

Freezing levels are uncertain on Saturday

Regions covered