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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2018–Apr 10th, 2018

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

The warming trend and elevated avalanche danger continues for a few more days. Choose conservative terrain and be especially wary of overhead hazards as the day heats up or if the sun shines.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

TONIGHT: Mostly clear. Ridge wind moderate to strong, west. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 2200 m.TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy. Ridge wind moderate to strong, southwest. Alpine temperature near +4. Freezing level 2600 m.WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Ridge wind light to moderate, west. Alpine temperature near 0. Freezing level 2000 m.THURSDAY: Cloudy, flurries. Accumulation 5-10 cm. Ridge wind light to moderate, south. Alpine temperature near -2. Freezing level 1200 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday several loose wet, natural and skier triggered avalanches up to size 2 were reported, as well as storm slabs up to size 1.5 with natural, skier and explosive triggers.Last week, on Friday both natural and easily skier-triggered wind slab releases up to size 1.5 were reported in the southern part of the region, while several loose dry avalanches were reported in the Crowsnest Pass area. Read recent MIN report here. And on Thursday in the Elkford area, recent small (size 1) loose/dry avalanches were reported on northerly aspects while loose/wet were observed on solar aspects. In the southeast corner of the region skier-triggered loose/dry avalanches were reported to be running far on a recently buried crust.

Snowpack Summary

Rising freezing levels have caused the recent 10-15 cm of storm snow to become moist up to about 2000 m. Below 1400 m in some areas, rain has soaked the snow surface.Multiple crusts exist within the top 100 cm of the snowpack. Some parts of the region may have a surface hoar layer roughly 60 cm deep on north aspects at treeline.A well settled midpack sits above sugary facets in many parts of the region, especially thin snowpack areas.

Problems

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.