Avalanche Forecast
South Rockies
The primary avalanche concerns are wind slabs in exposed terrain and cornices along ridgelines.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Pay attention to overhead hazards like cornices that could possibly trigger slabs.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Avalanche Problem 2: Cornices
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Cornices are reported to be large and there have been recent observations of cornice releases.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Extra caution needed around cornices with current conditions.
- Give cornices a wide berth when travelling on or below ridges.
Avalanche Summary
On Tuesday, small avalanches were observed in the Alexander Creek area. On Monday, small natural avalanches were reported from the region, and ski cutting produced similar small avalanches on wind-loaded features. Also on Monday, explosives triggered one size 2 wind slab avalanche on an east aspect at 2300 m. This avalanche ran on a 60 cm deep crust layer.
Snowpack Summary
10-30 cm of snow sits above a variety of crusts on all but high north aspects. Northern parts of the region have less new snow than southern parts. Wind has formed hard slabs in lee features, and in some cases the snow may be poorly bonded to the crusts.
Multiple crusts exist in the top metre of the snowpack. Some parts of the region may have a surface hoar layer roughly 60 cm deep on north aspects at treeline.
A well settled midpack sits above sugary facets in many parts of the region, especially thin snowpack areas.
Weather Forecast
Thursday: 2-4 cm new snow. Freezing level around 600 m. Moderate easterly winds.
Friday: Flurries. Freezing level around 600 m. Light southeasterly winds.
Saturday: Around 5 cm new snow. Freezing level around 700 m. Light easterly winds.
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
- South Rockies URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/south-rockies.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.
Shifting winds have formed slabs in lee terrain on a variety of aspects.