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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 27th, 2024–Mar 28th, 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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Banff, East Side 93N, Kootenay, LLSA, Sunshine.

Travel is generally safer in deeper more uniform snowpack areas. Triggering the persistent problem and stepping down to deeper layers is most likely in thin or variable depth snowpack areas and we are seeing this pattern on northern aspects between 2000-2600 m.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported today.

In the last week, we have noticed a pattern of skiier triggered avalanches in the region. We have seen 4 size 2-3 avalanches in the past 6 days. These have all been remotely or accidentally triggered by skiiers and have all occurred on northerly aspects between 2000 -2600m in thin snowpack areas. These have all initiated on the Feb. 2nd crust/ facet interface and stepped down to ground in pockets.

Snowpack Summary

A few cms of new snow covers suncrust on solar aspects and dry snow on polar aspects. Below this, the March 20th crust exists everywhere except north aspects above 1800 m and is helping reduce the sensitivity of the lower snowpack layers.

Our main concern is thin snowpack areas on northerly alpine aspects. This is where the mid-pack Feb 3 facets/crust layer and the basal facets/depth hoar remain weakest. Deeper snowpack areas have few concerns.

Weather Summary

A small system is approaching the Rockies that should bring 10-20 cm of snow by Saturday AM. Expect 5-10 cm Thursday and again on Friday. Winds will generally be light from the SW with freezing levels staying below 1500m. A clearing trend starts Saturday AM.

Click here for more weather info.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

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.