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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 9th, 2024–Jan 10th, 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 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

South Rockies, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

New snow continues to be redistributed into wind slabs at all elevations.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few storm or wind slab avalanches, both naturally and explosive triggered, were reported since the weekend, up to size 2.

If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 15 to 30 cm of recent snow has buried a variety of crusts, surface hoar, old wind-affected surfaces, or facets.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled with a series of variable crusts and facetted snow.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -10 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow, southeast alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -20 °C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy with trace snow amounts, northeast alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -25 °C.

Friday

Sunny with no precipitation, northeast alpine winds 0 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -35 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.
  • Keep your guard up at lower elevations. Wind slab formation has been extensive.
  • Shooting cracks, whumphs and recent avalanches are strong indicators of an unstable snowpack.

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.