Avalanche forecast

Glacier

Apr 19 – 20, 2023Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

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

Highlights

The hazard may be locally elevated if more snow falls than forecast.

Assess the bond of new snow before increasing your exposure, human triggering remains possible.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3

    Snow that fell in the past 2 weeks covers a series of crusts combined with surface hoar/facets in some locations. These layers have shown wide propagation and remain a concern. Storm slabs in motion have the potential to step down to these layers creating large avalanches.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2

    Expect storm slab reactivity to persist longer in wind loaded features and/or where it sits over a crust. Where the sun comes out and warms the surface snow it may be enough to increase reactivity and time to scale back your exposure.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday a field team was able to easily trigger several small slab avalanches at the interface of Sunday's storm.

On Monday a remotely triggered size 2 slab avalanche occurred at Balu pass.

Minimal natural avalanche activity in recent days.

Snowpack Summary

12cm of new snow sits over a crust on all aspects except high due north which still hold dry snow. Below this the Apr 9 crust is down 20-40cm (BTL) and Mar 31 crust is down 40-60cm. Both remain reactive in tests.

The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong but the Nov 17 basal weakness can still be found 20-40cm off the ground.

Weather Summary

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries continues through to the weekend.

Tonight: Cloudy w/ flurries 5cm, Alp low -7 °C, light winds, FZL 1000m

Thurs: Cloudy w/ sunny periods flurries, Alp high -3 °C, light southwest winds, FZL 1900m

Fri: Sun/cloud, isolated flurries, Alp high -4 °C, light west winds, FZL 1900m

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
  • Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

Regions covered