Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Little Yoho, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
Concern remains for steep slopes where deeper, wind-loaded pockets have a dense slab sitting over a very weak base.
The snowpack remains very thin for this time of the year.
Early Season Conditions persist.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed or reported for the last several days.
Snowpack Summary
Strong westerly winds have redistributed last week's 5-20 cm of storm snow.
Generally, the snowpack is thin and heavily wind-affected. There is a thin sun crust on south and west aspects. While surface hoar is growing, it has been blown away in the alpine.
The bottom of the snowpack consists of weak basal facets and a spotty melt-freeze crust from late October.
The snowpack is 30-50 cm deep at treeline with many areas still below threshold, and up to 90 cm in deeper alpine areas.
Weather Summary
Scattered flurries on Saturday with strong SW winds will have little effect on the already wind hammered snowpack. Treeline temperatures will be around -10C.
A frontal system arrives Sunday bringing the potential for increased winds, rising temperatures, and minor snowfall (2 cm).
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
The base of the snowpack is very weak, if you are in steep terrain where the wind has created a dense slab on top of this weak base, be wary! The snowpack is very thin in most areas yet storms earlier in November still produced limited avalanche cycles.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2