Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Apr 5 – 6, 2014Parks Canada
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Steady winds have decreased the ski quality. Stick to mellow lines in thin snowpack areas to avoid triggering any basal weakness. If the sun pops out Sunday, watch for increasing hazard on solar aspects.SH

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Isolated wind slabs in the lees of alpine ridge crests will still be susceptible to human triggering in the short term.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    Thin areas mainly E of the divide are still susceptible to triggering basal layers causing larger avalanches. Big triggers such as cornice failures could be enough load to trigger an avalanche on the ground level

Weather Forecast

Sunday expect a weak freeze and a mix of sun and cloud and minimal new snow. Winds will be Westerly and light gusting up to 75km/h in the alpine. A forecasted waming trend Monday, Tuesday with freezing levels up to 2600m. This will be accompanied by strong W winds,10-15 cm of snow in the Louise group, and maybe even some rain W of the divide.

Snowpack Summary

New wind slabs 15-25 cm thick in the immediate lees. Western areas such as Emerald and Field have a deep and stable snowpack. Contrast this with the Lake Louise, Hwy 93 N, & Sunshine areas, where there is a weaker snowpack with sudden collapse very easy compression results on the basal depth hoar. A crust exists on all but N aspects.

Avalanche Summary

A recent sz. 2 wind slab on a N aspect was observed in Yoho from the last 24 hours out of steeper terrain. No other avalanches were reported.

Confidence

Freezing levels are uncertain on Sunday

Regions covered