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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 12th, 2025–Feb 13th, 2025

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

Very little change is occurring to the avalanche conditions right now. This week's dominant theme is the wind effect at higher elevations and the very occasional triggering of a windslab. When temperatures are this cold, the snowpack does not change much - but continuous winds will scour the surface and deposit isolated windslabs.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed or reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, we investigated the Quartz skier accidental avalanche, where the start zone was 48° and the failure plane was an old layer of weak facets down 50 cm. The avalanche was triggered from a very shallow, faceted location and the crack propagated into the thicker snowpack nearby and released the avalanche. This is a classic avalanche release pattern.

Snowpack Summary

Last week's storm snow has been redistributed into wind slabs, which now sit on top of the Jan 30 interface. The mid-pack is generally weak with facets, while depth hoar over a crust forms an even weaker base. The snowpack is the weakest in eastern areas where snow depths are low. In these areas, the basal weaknesses should be carefully considered. Here is a representative snow profile taken on Wednesday at Sunshine Village.

Weather Summary

The Arctic ridge of high pressure continues to dominate the region and we can expect mostly clear skies (a few clouds), very cold temperatures (highs -15, lows -25), no new snow and light winds from the north. This pattern shows no sign of breaking down until a slight change on the weekend.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.