Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Ski and climbing conditions are good right now, and we have seen less avalanche activity over the previous few days. However we remain wary of the weak snowpack that dominates the region. Consider your exposure to avalanche terrain very carefully.
Weather Forecast
One more day in this same, stable weather pattern before things change. Tuesday expect temperatures ranging from -15 to -25, light winds and no new snow - looks like another nice day and then on Tuesday night the wind picks up and the remainder of the week will be snowy. Expecting 10-15 cm through the second half of this week.
Snowpack Summary
There is 15-25 cm of low density snow at tree line with a thin rain-crust below the storm snow at lower elevations. Some wind effect exists in alpine areas. Common throughout the region are the weak facets and depth hoar in the lower half of the snowpack, overlain by a 40-60 cm slab of well settled snow.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity was observed or reported on Monday.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.