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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 15th, 2022–Apr 16th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Purcells.

Cornices should be on your radar if you are traveling on ridgetops. Large cornices have a very nasty habit of breaking farther back than you expect, so give them a wide berth at all time. 

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Weather Forecast

Not much change as the broad upper trough is still in place. Cool and unstable conditions, combined with daytime heating, will likely give scattered flurries across the southern part of the province. Warmer and closer to seasonal temperatures will arrive on Sunday and Monday.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Scattered flurries / light variable wind / treeline low around -10C / freezing level to valley bottom.

SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with increasing cloudiness in the afternoon / light to moderate east wind / treeline high around -5 C / freezing level rising to 1500 m / 3-5 cm localized accumulations overnight.

SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / light west wind / treeline high around -2 C / freezing level rising to 1600 m.

MONDAY: Mix of sun and clouds / moderate south wind / treeline high of +1 C / freezing level rising to 1800 m.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported in the last 24 hours. On Thursday, a large cornice failure triggered was reported from a northeast aspect in the central part of the region.

Observations are limited this time of year. If you are getting out in the backcountry, please consider contributing to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

10-30 cm of snow sits over a widespread melt-freeze crust which formed during the major warming event on April 8. Periods of strong wind earlier this week have redistributed this snow in exposed terrain forming wind slabs which are now expected to have stabilized in most areas. Cornices have grown large recently but are expected to be relatively stable with the current cold temperatures. A new sun crust may now be forming on steep sun-exposed slopes.

A thick rain crust with facets above from early December is buried around 100-200 cm deep. Large avalanches were naturally triggered on this layer during the last significant warming event in the western part of the region near the Bugaboos. Although not a concern for the weekend, we expect it will wake up again with the next major input of warming and sun, or rainfall.

Terrain and Travel

  • Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.