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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 11th, 2020–Dec 12th, 2020

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

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

The recent storm snow is slowly faceting out, which is prolonging the high ski quality.

Before slashing into a committing line, have a dig to test the bond between the new and old snow layers. Expect sluff to run fast and far.

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure remains. Sunny skies, light winds and cool temps will continue over the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

20-40 cm of low density snow sits on the Dec 7th layer of sun crust, facets or surface hoar depending on your location. This snow came with minimal wind and is less reactive than we had thought it might be. The Nov. 5th crust / facet layer persists at the bottom of the snowpack. Snowpack depths are 90-160cm at tree line.

Avalanche Summary

Solar triggered loose dry, size 1-1.5 out of steep rocky terrain were observed today throughout the region. A size 2 slab from the past 24hrs was reported on the N aspect of Mt. Ball.

On Thursday Lake Louise ski area triggered a size 2.5 with explosives, 60-100cm deep and ran for 200m. No notable explosive controlled avalanches on Friday.

Confidence

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.