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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 5th, 2023–Apr 6th, 2023

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

Regions

South Rockies, St. Mary, Bull, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Continually assess your local conditions. Periods of intense sun can quickly destabilize the surface snow.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported in the region.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Dry, powder snow remains on shaded (northerly) slopes. While moist snow or thin crusts exist on most solar slopes at all elevations.

The mid snowpack contains several persistent weak layers including layers of surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain and old crusts on south-facing slopes. No recent activity has occurred on these layers.

The lower snowpack includes a layer of large, weak facets and or depth hoar crystals.

Weather Summary

Wednesday night

Mostly clear. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures -5 to -10 C. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures 0 to -5 C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy, with a chance of isolated flurries. Light to moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures 0 to -5 C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud, with a chance of isolated flurries. Light to moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Alpine temperatures 0 to -5 C. Freezing level 1800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.

Problems

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.