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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2020–Dec 14th, 2020

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Continue to watch for sluffing of the faceted surface snow in steep terrain. Although fairly small, they can travel far, move fast, and gain enough mass to push you around in narrow gullies or couloirs. Enjoy the great ski conditions!

Weather Forecast

Mainly cloudy with sunny breaks on Monday and slightly warmer temperatures than Sunday. Alpine winds will stay in the light to moderate range out of the NW before increasing to the strong range on Tuesday. No new snow forecast on Monday with light flurries expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Snowpack Summary

Trace of new snow and light wind effect in the alpine. 20-40 cm of faceted snow sits on the Dec 7th layer of sun crust, facets or surface hoar depending on your location. The Nov. 5th crust / facet layer persists at the bottom of the snowpack and continues to weaken over time. Snowpack depths are 90-160cm at tree line.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported on Sunday, but reports of skier triggered sluffs running far and fast in steep terrain. Previous reports of loose, dry avalanches up to sz 2 in steeper alpine features like gullies when the wind picked up Saturday. Sporadic reports of explosive triggered deep slab avalanches running on the Nov 5 crust or the basal facets.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.