Avalanche Forecast
Lizard Range and Flathead
The general trend is for gradually rising freezing levels and clearing skies. In the meantime pay attention to the bond of the recent new snow to the old snow surface.
Avalanche Problem 1: Storm Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Extra caution needed around cornices with current conditions.
- Use caution when transitioning into wind affected terrain.
- Watch for signs of instability such as whumphing, cracking, or recent natural avalanches.
Avalanche Problem 2: Loose Wet
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
When the sun comes out it will quickly weaken the new snow and cause loose wet avalanches on steep solar slopes.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Watch for signs that the snow is heating up such as pin-wheeling or the surface snow becoming moist.
- Minimize exposure to sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
Avalanche Summary
Several loose wet avalanches up to size 2.5 which were triggered by cornice falls were reported near Fernie on Sunday. Other than that avalanche reports have been limited due to very few information sources this time of year. If you have been out, post you observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
20-30 cm of new snow and moderate winds have formed storm slabs reactive to human triggers. This storm snow overlies numerous crusts in the upper 100 cm of the snowpack. The mid-pack is generally well settled and strong.
A layer of sugary facets around a crust can be found near the bottom of the snowpack which has been dormant for some time. Large triggers, such as a falling cornice, or a major warm-up to the snowpack could trigger this layer.
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest wind. Alpine temperature -1. Freezing level 1700 m.
THURSDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods. Light southwest wind. Alpine temperature 3. Freezing level 2200 m.
FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Moderate west wind. Alpine temperature 4. Freezing level 2300 m.
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Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
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Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Lizard Range and Flathead URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/lizard-range.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
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New snow and wind have created new storm and wind slabs.