Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Happy New Year! Starting to see some tracks in steeper terrain, however our confidence in strength of the snowpack is low given it's weak basal structure and inconsistent field test results.
Weather Forecast
Milder daytime highs for Thursday (-8C). A weak low moving down from the NW will bring some flurries (5 cm) on Friday coupled with another drop in temperatures through the day with a gusty West wind. Expect mainly cloudy skies with flurries through the weekend and perhaps accumulations of 5 cm per day.
Snowpack Summary
70-110 cm of snowpack exists across the region. The main weakness is at the base of the snowpack, where facets and depth hoar produce inconsistent test results 15 cm above the ground. Overall we believe the snowpack is gaining strength, but our confidence in this assessment is low. The Dec 18 layer of SH found further west is not prominent here.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed or reported today.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
Problems
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.