Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Apr 12 – 13, 2015Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

There is little or no new information about snow and avalanche conditions in the region. Check out this blog post for more information on a cool and snowy spring scenario.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    New snow may get blown into fresh wind slabs on the immediate lee of ridge lines and other terrain breaks. Where unaffected by wind, loose snow sitting on a crust could sluff easily in steep terrain.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Large cornices at ridgetop may fail under the weight of a person. Cornices may grow further with anticipated new snow and wind, and will remain unstable, particularly during periods of warming.

Avalanche Summary

A couple size 1-1.5 loose snow slides were reported from neighbouring regions on Saturday. Observations are becoming more limited as we enter into spring. If you're out in the mountains, please consider posting your observations to our webpage using the Mountain Information Network.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Monday: Increasing cloud. The freezing level bumps up to 2200 m. Winds are moderate gusting strong from the S-SW. Tuesday: Cloudy with flurries – 3-6 cm. The freezing level lowers to 1600 m and winds remain strong from the W-SW. Wednesday: Flurries ending early then a mix of sun and cloud. The freezing level rises to 2000 m and winds are moderate from the west.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 20cm of recent snow overlies a widespread and supportive melt-freeze crust on higher shady slopes, while melt-freeze conditions are more likely on sun-exposed and lower elevation slopes. Moderate and gusty winds have created fresh wind slabs in the alpine and exposed areas at treeline. The mid-March rain crust is down 35 to 70cm and has shown a good bond with snow above. Old persistent weak layers are still intact in the mid and lower snowpack and there may be potential for these layers to wake up with a big cornice fall, sustained warming and/or a significant rain event. Large cornices exist in the alpine and may become weak with daytime warming.

Regions covered