Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff Yoho Kootenay.
New wind slabs and the continued concern for occasional avalanches on the deep persistent layer mean there is still a lot of uncertainty with the snowpack. Enjoy the new snow in lower consequence, sheltered areas!
Weather Forecast
Clearing skies, cool temperatures and light winds are forecast on Monday with treeline temperatures in the -14 to -16 C range for much of the day. Tuesday the winds increase to strong again and light flurries are forecast with accumulations in the 5-10 cm range.
Snowpack Summary
15-20 cm of snow in the past several days. Strong winds on Sunday created fresh wind slabs at treeline and in the alpine. In many areas a dense mid pack sits over the basal weak layers of facets and depth hoar. Deep snowpack areas (>150 cm) have a denser base. A buried rain crust from February 1st is present up to 1850 m.
Avalanche Summary
Ski cutting and explosive work at the ski hills on Sunday produced a few small wind slabs avalanches and cornice failures. No new natural avalanches observed or reported. Continued sporadic natural, skier and explosive triggered avalanches up to size 3 on the deep persistent facets and depth hoar have occurred in the past week.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Tuesday
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Strong winds on Sunday created new wind slabs at treeline and in the alpine. These could be triggered by skiers or climbers. Choose routes or ski lines where you can avoid wind slabs until they have a chance to bond.
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading has created wind slabs.
- If triggered the wind slabs may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Deep Persistent Slabs
High consequence avalanches on the facets and depth hoar at the base of the snowpack remain possible. Large triggers such as cornices and wind slabs, or human triggering in thin snowpack areas are most likely to result in avalanches on this layer.
- Pay attention to overhead hazards like cornices which could easily trigger the deep persistent slab.
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5