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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 24th, 2023–Nov 25th, 2023

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

Regions

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

There is more storm snow in Eastern regions but little change to the hazard overall. Snowpack depths remain highly variable and generally thin. In steep terrain with enough snow depth, watch for slabs sitting over a weak base.

Early Season Conditions persist.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported or observed on Friday.

A couple of notable natural avalanches occurred in the past few days. A size 2.5 avalanche in Redoubt Bowl near Lake Louise slid on the October crust/facet layer, and at the Sunshine ski area, a size 1.5 slab on basal facets was triggered by a small sluff in steep cliffy terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Thursday's storm brought 30 cm in Eastern areas like Norquay, 20 cm in Banff and the Sunshine area, and much less along Hwy 93N and in Yoho. This new snow has formed pockets of deeper snow, and overlies previously wind-scoured alpine and treeline terrain. A melt-freeze crust from recent solar input exists on S and W aspects. The bottom of the snowpack consists of basal facets and/or a buried crust from late Oct. The snowpack is 30-50 cm deep at treeline with 40-80 cm in the alpine.

Weather Summary

A weak cold front will slide down the Rockies Saturday bringing isolated flurries to eastern areas. Further west skies will remain mainly sunny. Light to moderate N/NW winds at ridgetop are forecast. Treeline temperatures will be in the -5 to -12°C range with the chance of a slight inversion. This pattern will continue for the next few days.

For more details, click here.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
  • Ice climbers should be equipped with avalanche safety gear.

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.