Avalanche forecast

Waterton Lakes

Apr 8 – 11, 2016Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
No rating
Treeline
No rating
Below
No rating
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Highlights

Anyone planning to travel in avalanche terrain on Saturday would be best to start and finish very early, to avoid rapidly increasing hazard as the day heats up. Sunday/Monday offer more reasonable temperatures and stronger morning re-freezes.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Don't expose yourself to steep slopes on Saturday or Monday, unless there is a solid surface freeze.  If you're sinking in to boot top, it's past time to go home!

  • Wet Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–4
    Glide cracks have been developing quickly on many slopes.  Avoid entering or travelling anywhere below these slopes.  Glide avalanche timing is difficult to predict. Glide avalanches are always large and destructive

Weather Forecast

Freezing Levels are forecast to remain in the alpine on Friday night, though mostly clear skies may allow a light refreeze of the snow surface. Expect sun Saturday morning, before moderate NE winds bring increasing cloud. Light showers turn to flurries early Sunday, as freezing levels drop to 1500m. Sun and rising freezing levels late Sun/Mon.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is isothermal in many areas, but will cool on Saturday night.  Multiple buried crusts, although soft/wet, are keeping the snowpack supportive through the cooler parts of the day.  The upper snowpack will be strong while frozen, but increasingly weak if temperatures rise above freezing, or during periods of strong sun.

Avalanche Summary

A few small (Size 1) Loose Wet avalanches were observed on Friday from steep terrain.  New glide cracks are appearing almost daily, as the whole snowpack slumps downhill on certain slopes, though no glide avalanche releases have been noted yet.

Confidence

Regions covered