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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 5th, 2023–Apr 6th, 2023

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

Regions

Banff, East Side 93N, LLSA.

This new region is characterized by a thin snowpack with prominent basal facets and depth hoar that isn't improving. Other regions have this problem, but it is much more pronounced in this area. The sun may peek out for a bit longer Thursday so watch locally for solar effect.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A remote triggered avalanche on Mosquito Mountain occurred yesterday with no involvement. As well, a skier triggered size 3 (no involvement) in Hidden Bowl in the Lake Louise backcountry shows how weak the snowpack is in these areas.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 15cm of storm snow from the past 3 days buries sun crusts to ridgetop and temperature crusts below 1500m. The snowpack in this area is much thinner overall than the rest of the regions, The January sun crust and facet interface is down 40 to 80cm. The November depth hoar at the base of the snowpack remains very weak.

Weather Summary

Thursday: Freezing levels 1800-2000m in the afternoon with light to mod SW winds in the alpine.

Friday: 40-50kmh SW winds and 2000-2200m freezing levels. 2-5cm of snow is possible on Friday night.

For a detailed weather forecast click here.

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.