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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 11th, 2024–Mar 12th, 2024

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

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes, Ghost.

The snowpack is very tricky right now. Several skier triggered avalanches have occurred in the past 24hrs, one of them being a fatality. Careful route selection and intimate understanding of the snowpack is essential for safe travel. Another approach is to avoid or limit your exposure to avalanche terrain altogether.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported today. However on Sunday, three skier triggered avalanches occurred:

  1. A party of two were skiing on The Tower (near Engadine Burn) and triggered a size 3 avalanches. Two skiers were fully buried and unfortunately one of them was a fatality. Please see the MIN report for more details.

  2. A party triggered a size 2 avalanche at Burstall Pass and no one was injured. Please see the MIN report.

  3. A party triggered a size 2 avalanche on the Tryst chutes which buried one skier up to their neck. Please see the MIN report.

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    MIN REPORTS: Click on the blue, red or black drops on the map for detailed information.

Snowpack Summary

Where to start??? Up to 20cm of new snow sits on the surface. The snowpack is quite complex as all of the following layers are possible to trigger avalanches:

  1. Buried sun crusts on solar aspects down 20cm will provide a good sliding layer for the new snow to slide if the sun comes out. Be aware of what is above you.

  2. This last weekends wind slabs are now buried up to 20cm and have possibly been one of the triggers to wake up deeper layers in the snowpack.

  3. The February 2 crust is down approximately 70-100cm and has started to facet out around itself, providing a good sliding layer. This layer was the trigger for most of the avalanches on Sunday.

  4. The basal facets found near the bottom of the snowpack have been triggered by failures of the above layers.

Careful route selection is key as well as taking a closer look at the snowpack to understand where all the weaknesses lie.

Weather Summary

Tuesday will be a mixed bag of cloud, flurries and maybe a few sun rays in the afternoon. Somewhere in all that, 3-6cm of snow is forecast and some 40-50km/hr SW winds. Temperatures are expected to climb to -3c in the alpine.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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.