Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Apr 28 – 29, 2014Parks Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Tuesday will be an excellent day. A good freeze is expected on Monday night followed by a sunny, cool day on Tuesday. BUT, on Wednesday the warm air arrives with freezing levels to 3500m. The first big warm up day usually produces an avalanche cycle.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Over 20 cm of snow has fallen over the past few days at the higher elevations which has been blown into small pockets of windslab in isolated locations. Today we avoided one that was 40cm deep and directly below a cornice.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    3–4
    Until we go through a major melt-freeze cycle, this problem will remain. While not expected to produce avalanches when the temperatures remain cold, once the warm air arrives we expect another round of large avalanches on this layer. Wednesday?

Weather Forecast

Clear skies and a low of -10 on Monday night followed by a sunny day on Tuesday with highs of 4. Tuesday is the day to get out there! Wednesday we finally get the big warm up we've been waiting for, with freezing levels expected to reach 3500m, and going higher on Thursday. Highs on Wednesday to  12 degrees, with valley bottoms in the upper teens.

Snowpack Summary

All areas of the park have a strong melt-freeze crust up to about 2400 meters, slightly bit lower on north aspects. Above that, dry snow persists with up to 20 cm of settled powder in shaded areas. Isolated, small windslabs exist in leeward areas in the alpine. Temperatures on Monday of -9 at 3000 m and a light north wind kept the snowpack stable.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed or reported on Monday.

Confidence

on Wednesday

Regions covered