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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2024–Apr 10th, 2024

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

Regions

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

5-10 cm of new snow from convective flurries should refresh the ski quality, but be on the lookout for windslabs and watch your exposure to solar terrain as the sun comes out!

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Sunshine patrol reported ski cutting some small size 1 wind slabs in immediate alpine lee areas. Otherwise, no new avalanches were observed or reported on Monday.

It has been eight days since the last skier triggered avalanches on the Feb 3rd persistent weak layer occured. There have been three avalanches involving this layer in the last 10 days: a natural near Bow Summit, a skier remote in Purple Bowl and a skier accidental at the Cathedral Glades.

Snowpack Summary

5-10 cm of new snow covers surface crusts on all solar aspects and up to 2000 m on north aspects. On high north aspects 15-20 cm of recent storm snow remains dry with widespread wind effect near in the alpine and at treeline.

The February 3 persistent weak layer remains a concern for human triggering in shallow snowpack areas on northerly alpine aspects where no crusts are found in the upper snowpack and the midpack remains thin and weak.

Weather Summary

A ridge of high pressure is building for Wednesday and Thursday and we can expect mainly sunny skies, light westerly winds and freezing levels rising daily to ~ 2000m.

Thursday evening / Friday should bring some more convective snow and then temperatures rise into the weekend.

Click here for more weather info.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Remember that in the spring strong solar radiation and warm temperatures can weaken the snow in a matter of minutes.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.