Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 18th, 2024–Mar 19th, 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 possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Expect a frozen landscape until the snow arrives.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A widespread cycle has occurred over the weekend and continued into Monday. There is so much that has avalanched that it is difficult to tell what is most recent. Avalanche activity should slow right down on Tuesday with the cooler temperatures and cloudy skies.

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find extensive frozen crust at all elevations, especially on solar aspects. This crust is basically all of the snow that melted over the weekend with the warm weather and now has frozen. If the crust is solid, then you will most likely have strong bridging over any weak layers. The places to watch out for would be the polar aspects at tree line and above. This would be for some lingering wind slabs and both the persistent and deep persistent problems that could still be triggered.

Weather Summary

Winter ain't over yet!!! Freezing levels will drop Monday night with an overnight low of -8c. Tuesday will be a bit of a transition day after the warm weekend; expect mostly a cloudy day with flurries beginning near noon. Winds are forecast to be SW at 20km/hr with a high temperature of -5c in the alpine. Freezing level will be around 1900m. Snow is expected to start early Wednesday morning and continue into Thursday with below freezing temperatures.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Conditions may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.