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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 15th, 2026–Jan 16th, 2026

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.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Little Yoho, Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

Clear skies for the next few days and a slight inversion is possible on Saturday morning. Uncertainty regarding the Jan 3 peristent layer is keeping the below treeline rating at moderate.

A thin temperature surface crust extends up to 2600 m and is more pronounced on solar aspects. Still skiable...

Confidence

Avalanche Summary

Jan 15 flight showed widespead natural wind slabs & cornice failure to size 2 from the past week; few deep releases observed, though the east side of the region was not observed. One MIN described a deep release near Cirque Peak.

Jan 14: a skier-triggered size 1 near Sunshine at 2300 m on the Jan 3 persistent weak layer, and the same layer also reacted in tests on Mount Field at 2100 m (on Jan 15).

Explosive control in Yoho triggered windslabs generally size 2 with some up to size 2.5.

Snowpack Summary

Field teams report a variable thickness melt-freeze surface crust to ridge top, and widespread wind effect in the alpine. Under the crust, the snowpack feels firm, but in isolated locations (Sunshine, Mt. Field), the January 3rd surface hoar layer is reactive down 30-100 cm. The November facet/crust interfaces is 20 - 40 cm up from the ground.

Weather Summary

Thursday night: Clear. Alpine temperature: Low -10°C, Strong northerly winds tapering to moderate

Friday: Mostly sunny. Alpine high -5°C. Ridge winds northerly 10-30 km/hr.

Saturday: Mostly Sunny. Slight alpine temperature inversion in the morning (0°C at ridge top and -2°C in the valley bottom). Ridge wind light to moderate northerly wind. Freezing level rises to 1500 m.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.

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.