Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
The skiing has taken a bit of hit in many places as the snowpack continues to facet and weaken. Rocks/stumps are easier to hit as well. In steep terrain watch for stiffer slabs over the weak facets that could result in skier triggered avalanches.
Weather Forecast
Forecasts for Monday vary significantly from a trace of new snow to between 5-10 cm. It looks like winds will increase to the moderate range out of the SW and treeline temperatures will stay between -10 and -5 C.
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of recent snow sits over sun crust on steep south slopes or surface hoar on sheltered N aspects. Thin wind slabs exist in the alpine. The October 26 crust is generally found 10-30 cm above the ground with large facets growing both above and below it. The snowpack averages 40-85 cm at 2200m across the region and is weakening as it facets.
Avalanche Summary
Plenty of whumphfing on the October 26 crust and facet layer in the last several days. One explosive controlled size 2 failing on the Oct 26 crust was reported in the alpine at Lake Louise on Sunday. Ski cutting produced a thin new snow slab on a steep alpine S aspect at Sunshine Village on Sunday. No new natural avalanche activity observed.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
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.