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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 6th, 2021–Feb 7th, 2021

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Cold temperatures are here for the week. Factor this in when packing extra layers in case something goes wrong. Wind slabs are the main concern, but with few alpine observations, we are uncertain as to how prevalent they are.

Weather Forecast

Arctic air has moved into the region. Cloudy conditions on Sunday with trace amounts of snow and decreased wind speeds. Winds will be variable from NE to SW on Sunday. Expect -20 to -30C temperatures for most of the week.

Snowpack Summary

Previous winds have redistributed the recent 30-60cm of low density storm snow into wind slab in the alpine and exposed areas at tree line. In sheltered areas the recent storm snow remains loose powder. Buried sun crust and facets on steep south aspects. Treeline snow depths range from 150-220cm.

Avalanche Summary

Natural avalanche activity has tapered since the peak of the storm on Tuesday. Explosive control work Friday on Mt. Simpson produced avalanches to size 2.5 in areas where there were newly formed wind slabs.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.

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.