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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2024–Feb 21st, 2024

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

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, Flathead, Lizard.

Heightened avalanche conditions remain where slabs have formed above a weak layer buried deep in the snowpack.

Evaluate slopes individually before committing to the terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Monday, a group of skiers triggered a size 2, persistent slab avalanche in the Ladder Chutes, close to Fernie. For more details check out the MIN post.

A few natural loose dry avalanches were observed up to size 1 in steep terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Alpine and open treeline terrain is generally wind-affected. In wind sheltered areas, 30 to 60 cm of settling snow sits above a 10-20 cm thick, rain crust that formed in early February. In some areas, weak, sugary crystals (facets) are starting to form above this crust.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline around -2 °C. Freezing level to 1000 m.

Wednesday

Partly cloudy. 10 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1600 m.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around 0°C. Freezing level at 1800 m.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around 0°C. Freezing level at 1900 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Even a small avalanche can be harmful if it pushes you into an obstacle or a terrain trap.

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.