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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 8th, 2023–Apr 9th, 2023

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

Regions

Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South.

Before committing to your line, check for signs of windslab instability like shooting cracks, or fresh avalanches.

If you see signs of a rapidly warming snowpack, like snow that feels like a slurpy, or clumps up and pinwheels down a slope, retreat to less steep, more shaded terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday in the Loop ridge area, right on the border with this forecast area, some whumpfing and shooting cracks were reported on a wind-loaded road cut, in terrain not steep enough to avalanche. See more details on the Mountain Information Network (MIN) here.

On Thursday, the South Rockies field team was out in the Crowsnest area, and reported good skiing, and very small, isolated pockets of thin windslabs right at ridge crests. See more details in their Mountain Information Network (MIN) report here.

If you have any observations from this region, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Dry, powder snow remains on shaded (northerly) slopes. Moist snow or thin crusts exist on solar slopes and all aspects below ~2000 m.

A buried melt-freeze crust exists in the mid-snowpack, down 50 to 120 cm from the surface.

A weak layer of sugary crystals at the base of the snowpack persists. This layer has not produced recent avalanche activity in this area, but professionals continue to monitor for signs of it becoming active.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly clear. No new snow/rain expected. Freezing level around 1700 m. Treeline temperature around -2°C. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind, trending to extreme at high elevations.

Sunday

Mostly sunny. No new snow/rain expected. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind, trending to Extreme at high elevations. Freezing level rising to 2500 m.

Monday

Cloudy. Light rain expected, 2-5 mm. Freezing level rising to 3000 m. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind, trending to extreme at high elevations.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. 2-5 cm of snow expected. Snow line around 1200 m. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind, trending to strong at high elevations.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to isolated alpine features as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.