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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 24th, 2020–Jan 25th, 2020

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.
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.

Forecasters have low confidence in the snowpack. There is lots of good skiing and climbing but picking low consequence terrain is the only way to manage the deeper layers as they are hard to predict. Large (size 3) avalanches are still possible.

Weather Forecast

Cooler daytime highs are in the forecast tomorrow.  Alpine temperatures will cool to -13 by midday.  Winds will also be light to moderate from the W/SW and only light flurries along the divide.  Winds will pick up again for Sunday and more light snow.

Snowpack Summary

Recent wind slabs can be found near ridge-tops. There is 40-60 cm above the Dec 31 layer of facets, surface hoar and sun crust which is slowly becoming less reactive. The bottom layer of the snow-pack consists of weak facets and depth hoar, except for deeper snow-pack areas (over 2m) which have basal facets but not as prevalent.

Avalanche Summary

A ginormous natural avalanche over Cascade waterfall occurred today which went on the basal facets/depth hoar. There is some speculation that the warmer temperatures may have played a factor but its anyone's guess! Some other smaller persistent slabs as well were reported in the lake Louise backcountry in the last 24 hours.

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.

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.

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.