Bulletin d’avalanche

Waterton Lakes

Jan 31 – Feb 3, 2014Parks Canada
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Archivé · expiré 13 years ago

Danger d’avalanche

Fri
Sat
Alpin
2 · Modéré
Limite forestière
2 · Modéré
Sous la limite
2 · Modéré
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Points saillants

Watch for forecast winds to create slabs. Remember to consider the deep persistent problem in all of your terrain choices.

Problèmes avalancheux

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely
    Taille
    1–2
    Northerly winds are expected. New wind slabs could form very quickly as there is a lot of snow available. Expect to find different distribution to these slabs compared with the prevailing Westerly winds.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Likely - Very Likely
    Taille
    1
    The recent snow fails easily in steep terrain up to 25cm deep. Expect this to dissipate as the wind moves in.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpin
    • Limite forestière
    • Sous la limite forestière
    Probabilité
    Unlikely
    Taille
    2–3
    30 cm above the ground, this weak snow is a serious concern. Travelers should carefully consider snowpack depth, terrain shape, and slope angle. Use your probe to confirm depths when you are uncertain.

Weather Forecast

Cold and dry period with a chance of flurries Fri and Sun. The wind will be the big variable with strong NW winds possible early Friday and strong N winds early Saturday. Often winds from this direction have minimal impact on the terrain near the divide however expect rapid slab formation if they do as there is a great deal of snow for transport.

Snowpack Summary

Jan 22 hard surfaces in many areas were buried by 10cm . This snow rotted (facetted) for a few days or melted into the strong crusts on S aspects. Jan 27 strong winds created thin slabs in open areas TL and above. Wed brought 10 to 15cm of new snow. November snow 30 cm above the ground remains weak. Snowpack distribution is highly variable.

Avalanche Summary

A few loose dry natural events have occurred in steep and cliffy terrain. Skiers in steep terrain Monday found the recent snow sluffed easily and ran well on the hard Jan 22 surfaces beneath. Buried windslabs also reacted to skiers in a few places failing on the weak facetted snow that fell Jan 22.

Confidence

Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Friday

Régions couvertes