Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Banff, Banff Yoho Kootenay, East Side 93N, Field, Kootenay, LLSA, Lake Louise, Little Yoho, Sunshine, West Side 93N.
5-10 cm of new snow from convective flurries should refresh the ski quality, but be on the lookout for windslabs and watch your exposure to solar terrain as the sun comes out!
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Sunshine patrol reported ski cutting some small size 1 wind slabs in immediate alpine lee areas. Otherwise, no new avalanches were observed or reported on Monday.
It has been eight days since the last skier triggered avalanches on the Feb 3rd persistent weak layer occured. There have been three avalanches involving this layer in the last 10 days: a natural near Bow Summit, a skier remote in Purple Bowl and a skier accidental at the Cathedral Glades.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of new snow covers surface crusts on all solar aspects and up to 2000 m on north aspects. On high north aspects 15-20 cm of recent storm snow remains dry with widespread wind effect near in the alpine and at treeline.
The February 3 persistent weak layer remains a concern for human triggering in shallow snowpack areas on northerly alpine aspects where no crusts are found in the upper snowpack and the midpack remains thin and weak.
Weather Summary
A ridge of high pressure is building for Wednesday and Thursday and we can expect mainly sunny skies, light westerly winds and freezing levels rising daily to ~ 2000m.
Thursday evening / Friday should bring some more convective snow and then temperatures rise into the weekend.
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Terrain and Travel Advice
- Remember that in the spring strong solar radiation and warm temperatures can weaken the snow in a matter of minutes.
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
- Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
Avalanche Problems
Loose Wet
5-10 cm of new snow will shed quickly in steep solar terrain as the sun comes out on Wednesday.
Aspects: South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5
Wind Slabs
5-10cm of new snow with moderate to strong West winds on Tuesday has created new wind slabs in alpine and treeline lee areas. These have been most reactive where there is a crust underneath. Track this at the local level as snow fall amounts and wind velocity can be variable.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
The Feb 3 layer is down 60-130 cm. In shallow snowpack areas on northerly alpine aspects, this layer may still be sensitive to skiers, with remote triggering observed in a couple of instances last week. All recent avalanches that initiated on this Feb 3 layer stepped down to the basal facets/ground.
Aspects: North, North East, East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3