The natural cycle is tapering off, but conditions remain primed for human triggering. Discipline is required to manage this condition for some time to come.
Avalanche control is being conducted on the Emerald Lake slide path Mar 6, 2024. Hamilton Lake area, Emerald Peak, and Emerald Basin area are CLOSED.
Recent storm snow is being redistributed into lee areas by strong wind. Look for locally deep deposition areas and avoid them - human triggering remains very likely.
50-90 cm of snow overlies the Feb 3 crust/facet interface. Numerous natural and skier-triggered avalanches have occurred on this interface recently. Wide propagations and remote triggering remain likely. Avoiding avalanche terrain is the only reliable way to deal with this layer.
Some recent avalanches are stepping down to the weak basal facet and depth hoar layers near the ground resulting in large avalanches. This seems to be most common in thin, steep, rocky terrain in the alpine. Recent snow loading has made this layer more sensitive to natural and human triggering.
Lake Louise patrol reported triggering a size 2.5 persistent slab that ran 250m. Notably, when the shot went off on the cornice above the slope, the cornice pulled back well into flat terrain. They had another explosive result size 2 wind slab.
Sunshine patrol triggered a size 1.5 persistent slab on the Feb 3rd crust. The slab was reloaded onto the previous bed-surface by the wind.
50-90 cm of new snow fell from Feb 23 to March 2 and is now being blown into wind slabs at upper elevations. These slabs overlie the weak Feb 3 facet/crust layer that is down 50-90 cm and exists up to 2500 m and higher on solar aspects. The lower snowpack consists of several facet layers and depth hoar and the base of the snowpack is weak in shallow areas. Goats Eye Profile.
A high-pressure system is moving into the forecast region tonight bringing clear skies. Temperature will remain seasonally cool with the ridge at -20 and the valley at -10. Moderate SW wind is expected at the ridgeline. No precipitation will occur.
