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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 22nd, 2023–Nov 23rd, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Early Season
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Early Season
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Early Season

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay, Little Yoho, Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, Lake Louise, LLSA, Sunshine, West Side 93N, Field.

The light snow and wind forecasted tonight will not affect the hazard rating. Some places are below threshold to avalanche, but if there is snow, be wary!

Early Season Conditions means high variability right now.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, several avalanches up to size 2 were observed in the Bow Summit area. These were on both solar and shaded aspects and likely both cornice and temperature triggered. In other areas, several wind triggered avalanche up to size 1.5 were observed in extreme alpine terrain.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of snow overlies alpine and treeline areas that were previously scoured by strong SW winds. Snowpack depths range from 30-50 cm at treeline and 40-80 cm in the alpine with deeper pockets of wind deposited snow in lee areas. A melt-freeze crust has formed on the surface from recent solar input on south and west aspects. The bottom of the snowpack consists of a buried crust and facets.

Weather Summary

Light snow on Tuesday night. Trace amounts are expected along the divide and to the west but up to 5 cm may fall around the Banff townsite and possibly more to the east

Winds will remain light with freezing levels at valley bottom.

Skies clear on Thursday as a ridge sets up with dry, clear and calm conditions for the weekend.

For more details click here.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Ice climbers should be equipped with avalanche safety gear.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

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.