Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
The likelihood of triggering the Feb 10th interface is going down but the consequences remain serious. Continue to tread cautiously in steep terrain. Very cold temperatures are forecast for the weekend so dress warmly and be prepared for any delays.
Weather Forecast
Very cold temperatures down to -30'C overnight with daytime highs of -22'C and light to moderate N winds are forecast for tomorrow. Slightly warmer temperatures are forecast for Sunday with highs of -12'C. Monday we may see some light snow and warming temperatures if the Pacific systems manage to push the arctic air aside.
Snowpack Summary
Sun crust on solar aspects with some wind affect in the alpine. 25-40cm of settled storm snow now sits on top of the Feb10th layer which is comprised of facets, surface hoar, and on solar aspects a sun crust. Recent tests range from easy to hard with a sudden collapse at this interface. Slopes with a buried sun crust appear to be the most touchy.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported or observed today. Some solar triggered slides up to size 2 occurred in the last several days along with some explosive triggered avalanches up to size 1.5. Whumphing still occuring in lower angled terrain in Kootenay and near Lake Louise over the last few days.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.