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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 22nd, 2024–Mar 23rd, 2024

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

Regions

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

Watch for sluffing of the recent 10-30cm snow in very steep terrain. Although isolated in nature, the potential for slides on the deeper layers shouldn't be forgotten on high, shady aspects (see avalanche summary).

The ski quality has improved greatly over the past few days.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

An isolated size 3 event on Hidden Bowl in the Lake Louise backcountry. It was a remote in the alpine from 200m away while uptracking. See photo below. There have also been some recent natural sloughs out of very steep terrain (mainly size 1), sliding on the March 20th interface.

Snowpack Summary

Over the last few days, 10 to 30cm of mainly low-density snow has fallen. A parks group on the Wapta found a 10cm "wind skin" starting to form in the high alpine. This snow lies over the March 20 temperature crust, which extends to 2100 m on all aspects and ridge tops on solar aspects. The Feb 3rd crust layer is down ~ 50 -100 cm, and the basal facets persist in thin snowpack areas. Total snowpack depths range from 90-170 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Saturday: Valley bottom freezing levels, light winds, isolated flurries, and a mix of sun and cloud developing in the PM.

Sunday: 1500m freezing levels, light winds, and sunny skies.

Click here for more weather info.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.

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.