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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2022–Feb 1st, 2022

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

15-25 cm of recent light snow is not bonding well to the underlying snow. Choose lower angle terrain for riding and carefully select climbs to manage the new problems.

Weather Forecast

As the Arctic air slides into the region for a short visit, temperatures will noticeably drop in the afternoon as the winds shift to light from the North. The coldest day will be Wednesday where morning temps will be in the -25 range with sunny skies and then warm through the day and into Thursday.

Snowpack Summary

15-25 cm in the last 24 hrs has created fresh windslabs & surface instabilities that are bonding poorly to the underlying surface of surface hoar/crusts/facets. Expect easy triggering of these soft slabs. It's unlikely to wake up the deep facets, but they continue to lurk 60-100 cm deep and could be triggered by cornice failures should they occur.

Avalanche Summary

New wind slabs were ski & explosive triggered in the immediate lees by the ski hill snow safety teams. In Yoho, numerous storm slabs observed/triggered in steep terrain. Over the past week there have been a few avalanche to sizes 3 on the persistent weak layer. All were triggered by large loads (cornice).

Confidence

Problems

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.