Avalanche forecast

Waterton Lakes

Dec 24 – 27, 2024Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 2 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

Not much change happening with the snowpack right now but wind slab triggering remains a possibility in steep lee features in the alpine and treeline.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2.5

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Evidence of a natural wind slab avalanche cycle has been observed in the Cameron Lake and Cameron Valley area, with avalanches up to size 2.5. Notably, two wind slab avalanches from the south Forum ridge area ran from the ridge to lake elevation and broke the ice on the lake. These avalanches likely happened on Wednesday or Thursday last week.

Yesterday, a local ski area reported two size 1.5 wind slabs with explosive control work in previously unskied terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Around 5 cm of new snow fell Saturday night, this overlies older hard windslabs in the alpine and treeline and a thin melt freeze crust below treeline.

Snowpack depths at treeline range from 80 - 120 cm.

Weather Summary

Tues

Cloudy in the morning, clearing later in the day. Ridgetop winds 50 - 60 km/hr from the southwest. Treeline high of +3°C.

Wed

Sunny. Ridgetop winds 50 km/hr from the southwest. Treeline high of -1°C, low of -4°C.

Thurs

Becoming cloudy with 0-3 cm of new snow in the afternoon. Treeline high of -3°C. Southwest winds at ridgetop, 40 - 60 km/hr.

Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast for the most up to date information.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.

Regions covered