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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 15th, 2019–Nov 16th, 2019

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

Little Yoho.

Skier accidental in the Louise region today, see avalanche summary for details.

At this point, we are uncertain about the incoming snow and wind  on Sunday. Stay tuned!

Weather Forecast

Saturday - light flurries and slightly cooler temperatures than Friday should help to improve the hazard slightly.

Sunday - models range from 10-30 cm predicted with Moderate to strong SW winds along the Divide and West. If we see large accumulations, expect the hazard to rise on Sunday.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of settled snow sits on the Nov 8 crust and a variety of old wind slabs in the alpine. Faceting observed around the Oct crust and at the ground showing easy sudden collapses & propagation propensity in deeper snowpacks around Louise (90 cm). Treeline snow depths range from 50-80 cm, and up to 110 cm wind loaded pockets in the alpine.

Avalanche Summary

A skier accidental size 2 slide failed on facets on the ground on a convex feature in Pipestone Bowl, near the Lake Louise Ski area. Size 1.5 natural on basal facets NE aspect at 2400 m, base of Whitehorn gullies. No other

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Sunday

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.

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.