Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 1st, 2024–Mar 2nd, 2024

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Little Yoho, Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

  • Mt Field, Mt Stephen, Mt Cathedral and Mt Dennis (in Yoho Park) and Mt Hector (in Banff Park) are closed for avalanche control on Saturday. Please no climbing or skiing in these areas.

  • Human triggered avalanches remain very likely. Avoid all avalanche terrain including exposure to avalanche terrain from above.

Confidence

No Rating

Avalanche Summary

Natural and explosive triggered avalanches up to size 3 continue throughout the area. Road avalanche control over the past three days have produced size 2-3 avalanches with crowns 40-100 cm deep.

Human triggered avalanches will remain likely to very likely through the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

There has been 50-70 cm of storm snow since Feb 23. Strong winds during the storm have produced wide-spread wind slabs in alpine and treeline elevations. The Feb 3 crust is down 70-100cm and exists up to 2500m. Most avalanches observed in last week have been running on this layer. In thin areas, the base of the snowpack is weaker then the more settled deeper areas.

Average snowpack depths at treeline range from 110 cm in thinner eastern areas to 180 cm in thicker western areas.

Weather Summary

The main storm is over, but unsettled conditions with light snow accumulations will persist through the weekend. Ridgetop winds will be in the light to moderate range from the south and southeast on Saturday.

Click here for a more detailed weather forecast

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain, large avalanches may reach the end of run out zones.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Remote triggering is a big concern, be aware of the potential for wide propagations and large, destructive avalanches at all elevations.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.