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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 15th, 2022–Mar 16th, 2022

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Great skiing can be found! Be cautious navigating the recently developed wind slabs and loose dry/cornice activity in couloirs or on climbs.

Weather Forecast

SW flow continues bringing light flurries for the next few days, approximately 4 cm/day adding to the 20 cm of recent snow. Moderate West winds continue for Wednesday/Thursday.  Freezing levels will drop to around ~ 1300m for Wednesday and Thursday.

Snowpack Summary

15-30cm of new snow sits on a buried sun crust on steep solar aspects, and either previous wind effect or soft snow on other aspects. Several buried sun crust layers exist on steep solar aspects,. but the most concerning crust has been the Feb 16 down 40-50 cm and Jan 30 down 50-80 cm. The lower snow pack is generally well settled.

Avalanche Summary

Generally obscured visibility today with flurries.  Several cornice triggered slabs occurred in the alpine on Mt. Rundle today up to size 2 on a NE aspects and a few loose dry avalanches.  Local ski hills were reporting some windslabs in alpine and treeline terrain, mainly in the size 1-1.5 range.

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.

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.

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.