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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 30th, 2024–Dec 31st, 2024

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

Regions

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

Be careful on steep, thin and rocky terrain, wind-slabs and small avalanches could step down and trigger full depth avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Lake Louise patrol threw 9 shots and did not get any results. Sunshine patrol got some small size 1 wind slabs with explosives. The Parks Canada field team did not observe any avalanches in the Mt. Field area in Yoho.

Snowpack Summary

15-30 cm of recent storm snow sit on top of wind slabs formed by last week's strong W/SW winds in the alpine. The mid and lower snowpack is faceted and weak, with facet/crust interfaces near the ground. This is more pronounced east of the divide, while western regions display a deeper more settled snowpack. Snowpack depths at tree-line are about 60 cm in eastern areas and 100 cm west of the divide.

Weather Summary

A slight cooling trend is anticipated over the next couple of days, with temperatures reaching -8°C in the valley and -16°C at the ridge. Wind will remain light, coming from the West. Expect cloudy skies with very light snow accumulations on Tuesday and Wednesday, totaling less than 6 cm.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs are isolated, but may remain reactive.

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.