Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2015–Dec 16th, 2015

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Pay attention to the potential for surface hoar below 2150 meters. This layer is producing easy to moderate shears down 30-40 cm.

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure dominates the area through Friday. Expect to see clearing skies, light north-west winds and cool temperatures. No inputs to significantly change the danger rating or ski conditions are expected.

Snowpack Summary

In sheltered terrain between 1700 and 2150m, 30-40 cm of recent HST sits over the December 3rd surface hoar. Easy to moderate shears found on this interface. No other significant shears have been observed in the snowpack. In the alpine isolated wind slabs exist in immediate lee areas.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed.

Confidence

The weather pattern is stable

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.