Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
While the current avalanche danger is rated as low, avalanches are still possible. On Tuesday, a skier triggered a wind slab that stepped down to weak basal layers near Cirque Peak. Refer to the summary for more details.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Tuesday, a skier triggered a size 2 wind slab on the west-facing slopes below Cirque Peak (near Bow Lake) at about 2500m. It initiated as a windslab but stepped down to the basal facets and crust in places. The crown was up to 1 m deep. The debris got channeled into a shallow gully and ran quite far. There were no injuries but some equipment was lost.
Snowpack Summary
There has been widespread wind effect down into treeline in exposed areas. Where the wind hasn't had an impact, the surface is a mix of facets and/ or sun crust, depending on your location. Below this, the mid-pack consists primarily of facets. At the base of the snowpack lies a widespread, weak layer of depth hoar and a crust that should not be forgotten. Snow depths at the treeline range from 60 to 100 cm.
Weather Summary
Increasing clouds Wednesday night, with light snow starting on Thursday. Strong to extreme westerly wind will ease to moderate by the end of Thursday.
5-15 cm is forecast for Friday to Saturday morning with moderate to strong southerly wind.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
There is lots of evidence of wind-affected snow throughout the region with some wind slabs in specific locations. Given the shallow and weak nature of the snowpack, once triggered it's possible it would step down to the weak basal layers.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2