Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Little Yoho.
Conditions are tricky right now. There has been a lot of wind, a persistent weak layer and now the sun is forecast to come out with warm afternoon temperatures.
Stick to low angle terrain on shaded aspects and look for areas without wind effect to find the best quality snow with the lowest avalanche risk.
Confidence
Low
Avalanche Summary
On Thursday, helicopter avalanche control on Mt. Field, Stephen, and Dennis produced slab avalanches up to size 3. Any spot that looked like it could avalanche, did. Many avalanches triggered slabs from the side walls of the path.
Check the avalanche summary in the adjacent Banff forecast for the report of a skier accidental near Lake Louise that happened on Wednesday.
Snowpack Summary
20 - 40 cm of snow from last weekend has been blown by winds in alpine and treeline areas. This snow sits over a layer of weak facets, surface hoar or sun crust from the prolonged cold, dry period in February.
The mid and lower snowpack is mostly well-settled, though it is heavily facetted in thin snowpack areas. Tree-line snow depths range from 120 cm to 180 cm.
Weather Summary
Warm, spring-like weather is here for the next few days. Expect sunny skies with good freezes in the morning and freezing levels rising to ~ 2300m in the afternoon. Ridgetop winds will be light to moderate from the west throughout the period. No precipitation is forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
- If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
- Avoid steep, sun-exposed slopes when the air temperature is warm or when solar radiation is strong.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Up to 30 cm of storm snow and strong S-SW winds have loaded lee areas at treeline and above with new slabs up to 60 cm deep. This is sitting on a weak layer of facets, surface hoar or sun crust. Human triggering will remain likely in steep or wind loaded terrain for the next few days.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5
Loose Wet
Clear skies and warm temperatures over the next few days may trigger a loose wet avalanche cycle in steep solar terrain. Smaller loose wet avalanches could trigger the persistent layers resulting in bigger slides. The amount of reactivity on this layer will depend on how sunny it is.
Aspects: South, South West, West.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2