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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 17th, 2023–Apr 18th, 2023

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

Regions

Glacier.

Keep in mind that even though the hazard is moderate and natural avalanche activity has tapered, human triggered avalanches are still possible.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A remotely triggered size 2 persistent slab was reported to Parks staff Monday afternoon, running on the March 31st layer. A few Na avalanches were observed in the park from the extreme winds overnight on Sun.

On Sat, field teams easily triggered sz1 loose wet avalanches below TL with daytime warming. Naturals up to sz3 were seen earlier in the week and were also associated with warming events.

Snowpack Summary

10cm of new snow covers a surface crust on all aspects, except due North where dry snow still exists.

In the upper snowpack, two main layers remain a concern, the Apr 9 crust (down 5-30 BTL) and the Mar 31 crust (down 30-50cm) which both remain reactive to tests.

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

Weather Summary

A band of convective flurries will start to move to the region on Tuesday morning

Tonight: Alpine Low -5°C, FZL 600m, SE winds 20-30km/hr

Tues: Flurries. Alpine High -5°C, FZL 1600m. Light westerly winds

Wed: 6cm. Low -9 °C, High -6 °C, FZL 1600m. Light NW winds

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

Problems

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.