Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Tuesday will start with LOW hazard, but intense solar radiation and rising freezing levels will raise the hazard at lower elevations and on solar aspects during the day. Start and finish early, and avoid steep solar aspects as they warm up.
Weather Forecast
Light easterly winds continue on Tuesday with clearing skies and a mostly sunny day. Freezing levels will rise to around treeline with intense solar inputs expected at all elevations during the day. Good overnight freezes with slowly increasing freezing levels and lots of solar inputs are expected for the next several days. Springtime!
Snowpack Summary
15 to 30 cm of storm snow at treeline with more at higher elevations. Buried crusts up to 1800m on all aspects and to ridge crest on solar aspects. Small wind slabs in alpine lee areas. Several persistent layers exist in the mid to lower snowpack that might be a concern in thin areas, with significant warming or with larger triggers like cornices.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches observed Sunday or Monday. Evidence of previous loose dry avalanches in steep alpine terrain. A few cornice failures occasionally pulling slabs in steep alpine features during the storm last week. A couple avalanches were also observed a few days ago with storm snow on a buried crust so this is worth monitoring.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
Avalanche Problems
Loose Wet
With intense solar inputs expected Tuesday and lots of loose snow on solar aspects, we expect many loose wet avalanches over the next few days. Keep an eye on any sun exposed terrain above you and be off steep solar terrain before these start.
- Watch for clues, like sluffing off of cliffs, that the snowpack is warming up.
- Daytime warming will weaken surface layers, plan your day around being back to the trailhead early.
Aspects: East, South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
Warming temperatures may cause this problem to start showing up again. Significant solar warming, high alpine thin snowpack areas or places where a large cornice might have enough punch to trigger the deeper layers are the main areas of concern.
- Pay attention to overhead hazards like cornices which could trigger persistent slabs.
- Pockets of persistent slabs linger on alpine lee features.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3