Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Little Yoho, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
Be careful if venturing into deeper snowpack or wind-loaded pockets where denser snow sits over a weak base.
The snowpack remains very thin for this time of the year and Early Season Conditions persist.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported or observed on Tuesday.
Snowpack Summary
Strong westerly winds have moved last weeks storm snow and blew away much of the surface hoar. Generally, the snowpack is thin and wind-scoured with a thin suncrust on south and west aspects. 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
Wednesday should see the alpine winds decrease as clouds move in and light flurries start in the afternoon. Thursday to Friday will be benign with partly cloudy skies, light winds and light flurries with no significant accumulation.
On the weekend, we may start to see a change with a system moving in from BC....
For more weather forecast details, click here.
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 snowpack is very thin in most areas, but we have seen regular avalanche activity from areas that have enough snow cover over the last week. The base of the snowpack is very weak, if you are in terrain where the wind has created a dense slab on top of this weak base, be wary!
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2