Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
We are back to a "Classic Rockies" mid winter snowpack with a weak structure that does not inspire confidence and will linger for some time. Choose conservative routes and manage your group carefully to minimize the potential for human triggering.
Weather Forecast
Chance ot flurries on Sunday night, then a bite of a clearing trend on Monday with another chance of flurries on Tuesday night. Cooler temperatures and moderate W winds for the next few days.
Snowpack Summary
Treeline height of snowpack values range from 100 to 170cm. The Feb 11 layer of sun crust and isolated surface hoar is down 20 to 50cm. The Jan 6 layer of faceted crystals is the dominant snowpack feature and is down about 50-70cm. This layer is producing whumpfing, cracking and has been responsible for much of the recent avalanche activity.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches to report.
Confidence
Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Monday
Problems
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.