Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Have fun out there this weekend but watch out for isolated shallow snowpack areas, these areas exist in the terrain and travelers need to keep this in mind. Large triggers such as a cornices still have the potential to trigger deep instabilities. PJ
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure is building on the coast and will bring cool Northwesterly flow over the weekend. A disturbance on Sunday will collide with the ridge and bring light flurries that evening into Monday. Cool temperatures will prevail through the period.
Snowpack Summary
A few cm's of cold loose snow sits on the surface. The base of the snowpack is weak facets and depth hoar with a 40-60cm slab of stiff snow over top. Triggering would be difficult but is possible in open, shallow snowpack areas such as ridgetop features, cross-wind affected terrain features or moraines.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported today except for one small explosive triggered avalanche at one of the local ski areas to open up their last steep piece of terrain.
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.