Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Little Yoho, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
Recent snowfall has enhanced skiing conditions at higher elevations, but be mindful of rocks and hidden hazards.
As new snow amounts increase, the October 23 weak layer is slowly becoming more reactive.
Watch locally for increased winds. It won't take much for the new snow to start sloughing.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
During avalanche control in Delerium Dive, Sunshine Ski Hill had numerous results failing on the October crust. A small hand charge triggered a size 2.5, a skier triggered a size 2, and numerous other smaller results. Lake Louise also had another size 2 explosive-controlled slide on the October crust in Whitehorn which is a recurring theme this past week.
Snowpack Summary
10-30 cm of low-density storm snow sits over an early-season snowpack ranging from 50-90 cm at TL. Two weak layers exist: a Nov 9 crust/surface hoar 25-40 cm above the ground and an Oct crust/facet layer right above the ground. We have limited observations of how widespread this layer is, but we think the Oct crust is more prominent at treeline and above on Northerly aspects.
Weather Summary
Two small back-to-back storms are forecasted from Friday night into Saturday. They will begin as upslope storms and transition to the southwest, with 5-10 cm of snowfall expected. Winds will be light throughout the weekend, and temperatures will be -8 to -10C.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be aware of the possibility for full depth avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
The Oct 23 crust, just above the ground with weak facets above it, has slowly increased in reactivity (see avalanche summary). The most alarming results have been in the Sunshine area, with fewer reports in other regions. We are uncertain as to how widespread the problem is at this point.
Aspects: North, North East, East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5