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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 2nd, 2022–Mar 3rd, 2022

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Great conditions with new snow and light winds forecast for Thursday, then cooling. We're now in suncrust season, so be wary of buried crusts on solar aspects; these have a nasty habit of surprising us in March. North aspects don't have this problem.

Weather Forecast

The different weather models do not agree, but it looks like about 15 cm of new snow is expected by the end of day Thursday. This comes with light winds and temps from 0 to -5 on Thursday. Overnight Thursday the skies clear and temperatures drop about 10 degrees.

Snowpack Summary

20-30cm of snow over the past 3-days has made for a smooth, well-bonded snow surface up to treeline with limited wind effect in alpine areas. Warm temperatures have created wet snow and crust below about 1600m with some snowballing on the surface. Watch for buried sun crusts on S and W aspects; always a concern during the second half of the winter.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported from Sunshine or Lake Louise ski area, or from ski touring trip to Crystal Ridge on Hwy 93N, or from a road patrol in Kootenay National Park. Breaking news late in the day from K-Country: size 2.5 skier remote slab 40 cm deep on a SE aspect at 2500 m (ran on a suncrust).

Confidence

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.