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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 6th, 2024–Mar 7th, 2024

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

East Kakwa, Kakwa, Pine Pass, Tumbler.

Look for signs of instability and assess for wind slabs. Small avalanches could step down to weak layers deeper in the snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Only a few natural size 1.5 wind slab avalanches have been reported over the past few days.

Over the past week in the neighbouring region, many natural and skier triggered persistent slab avalanches occurred on the facets above the early-February melt-freeze crust described in the Snowpack Summary.

Snowpack Summary

The wind has blown from a variety of directions over the past few days. Wind effect could be found on all aspects.

30 to 50 cm below the snow surface you may find surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain, weak facets, or a hard melt-freeze crust on south and west-facing slopes.

A thick and hard widespread crust that formed in early February is buried about 60 to 80 cm deep. This crust may have a layer of facets above it.

The eastern portion of this region is much shallower with a highly variable and wind affected snowpack.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with clear breaks. 25 to 40 km/h west and northwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -16°C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with 1 to 3 cm snow. 25 to 50 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -7°C.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow expected. 30 to 50 km/h south alpine wind. Treeline temperature -2°C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of new snow expected. 30 to 50 km/h south alpine wind. Treeline temperature -1°C. Freezing level 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Conservative terrain selection is critical, choose only well supported, low consequence lines.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.

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.