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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 7th, 2024–Feb 8th, 2024

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

The sun had an unexpected punch today producing loose wet avalanches to size 1.5 in the alpine. This demonstrates how quickly conditions can change. Be mindful of un-forecasted sunny conditions where solar radiation can have a large impact.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

Sunshine patrol reported that Bourgeau 9 produced a loose wet avalanche size 1.5. Additionally, they were getting explosive results, wind-slabs to size 1.5, in the Delirium Dive. Lake Louise patrol reported seeing loose dry avalanches in the surrounding backcountry to size 1. No avalanches were observed by the field team up 93N.

Snowpack Summary

10-20cm of recent storm snow, becoming moist on solar aspects, sits on a recently formed crust, which is widespread at all elevations, except for north aspects above 2500 m. The cooling temperatures have improved the stability of the mid-pack, but the January persistent facet layers down 20-50 cm, and deep persistent facet and depth hoar layers at the base of the snowpack, are still present at treeline and above.

Bow Summit Profile.

Weather Summary

Generally, a benign weather pattern will exist for the next couple of days. Light ridge top wind, trace accumulations of snow, and cloudy skies with seasonal temperatures.

For more mountain weather click HERE.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

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.

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.