Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Regions
Little Yoho.
Conditions are touchy right now. Somewhere between High and Considerable and forecasters are debating which category they fall into. Regardless, it is a good time to stay out of avalanche terrain!
Weather Forecast
Tuesday should be mostly clear with light winds. The next storm is moving in Wednesday/ Thursday with 20-30 cm 's of snow, rising temps and strong west winds. We expect the danger to rise significantly at that time.
Snowpack Summary
20 - 30 cm of low density snow with little wind sits on the surface. The main concern in the snowpack lurks below and continues to be the 3 persistent weak layers of surface hoar and/or facets that are found between 50 and 100cm down. We continue to observe sudden test results, whumphing and large propagations on these layers.
Avalanche Summary
Forecasters remote triggered a size 2.5 today on the Icefields Parkway. They triggered it from ~ 50m away on a low angle ridge. The slide was ~ 300m wide, 80 cm deep and slid on a well preserved surface hoar layer (Jan. 6th). A solo skiier in the Lake Louise backcountry had a very close call today when he triggered a size 2 and was partially buried
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Wednesday
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.
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.