Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Little Yoho, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
There are two facts: the drought continues, and the snowpack base is weak and faceted. Where avalanches can be triggered is less certain, and stepping out into bigger alpine terrain still inspires little confidence.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed or reported on Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
Trace amounts of snow bury surface hoar below treeline and sun crusts on steep solar slopes treeline and above. Wind effect and old, hard-slab are found TL and above. A temperature crust from just before Christmas is now buried 10-20 cm below 1900m.
The mid-pack contains a rain crust which can be found as high as 2300m in southern areas.
The basal third of the snowpack consists of a mix of weak facets and depth hoar.
Treeline snow depths range from 60-100 cm.
Weather Summary
Thursday: Trace amounts of snow, cloudy, and moderate to strong west winds. Mild temperatures (-8C to -5C).
Friday: Decreasing West winds in the AM, then increasing in the afternoon with trace amounts of snow.
For more information, click Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.
- Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
- Use caution when approaching steep and rocky terrian.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
The bottom of the snowpack is weak, comprising facets and depth hoar. Recent warm temperatures and winds have promoted slab development in the mid and upper snowpack. There are fewer reports of this being triggered recently, but be cautious in thin alpine areas with enough slab to propagate.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5