Avalanche Forecast
Avalanche Bulletin - Glacier National Park
A short stint of high pressure is upon us.
Careful snow pack evaluation and thoughtful route finding is essential as the desire to push into the alpine takes hold.
Avalanche Problem 1: Loose Wet
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Minimize exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
- Daytime warming will weaken surface layers.
Avalanche Problem 2: Storm Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
~55cm of storm snow sits on a crust on all aspects up to 1900m. Moderate Southerly winds have redistributed the new snow into pockets of fresh wind slab on lee features.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline. Storm snow is forming slabs.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous artillery controlled avalanches yesterday size 2 - 3 occurring at the old snow / storm snow interface.
Several glide cracks are opening up in our area and are unpredictable in nature. Avoid these hazards as the results could be large and destructive.
Snowpack Summary
The calm after the storm has left us with 5cm of fresh snow in the past 24hrs, bringing the weekly storm snow total to 45cm which sits on top of a crust on all aspects up to 1900m. Moderate winds from the South may have formed pockets of wind slab at tree line and above. The mid and lower pack is well settled and bonding.
Weather Forecast
Back-country users can rejoice as we get a small weather window of benign, clear weather for the next two days. Expect a mix of sun and cloud, chance of convective flurries, an alpine high of -4, light variable winds and a freezing level to 1800m. Friday evening will see another moist pacific storm move through our area, forecasted 10-20cm of snow.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
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?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Avalanche Bulletin - Glacier National Park URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/glacier.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
Loose wet avalanches can be expected as daytime warming and solar radiation pushes freezing levels upwards of 1800m. Expect surface snow layers to be moist and reactive on convexities and unsupported features below treeline this afternoon.