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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2022–Jan 5th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

If you could bare the cold temps, good riding can be found in wind sheltered terrain. Outflow winds in some areas has affected some lower elevation ski quality.

Weather Forecast

Only a few cm's of snow overnight with lows around -20C. Daytime highs Wednesday around -15C with light SW wind in the morning increasing slightly in the afternoon. Thursday afternoon expect some flurries as moderate to strong SW wind ushers in milder air. Check here for more details.

Snowpack Summary

15-30 cm storm snow in the last few days. The wind has eased however, wind slabs are present in lee areas of the alpine and some treeline locations. 50-70 cm over the Dec 2 crust/facet combo which exists below 2200 m. Shallow snowpack areas (<100cm) have weaker basal facets. Snowpack depths at treeline are from 120-160 cm.

Avalanche Summary

Ski hills report triggering small loose dry or thin wind slabs size 1-1.5. Otherwise no avalanches observed or reported in our region. Avalanche Canada reported a notable remote trigger of a size 3.5 that slid to ground, SE of Radium, outside of our region at Teddy Pass.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.