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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 23rd, 2017–Feb 24th, 2017

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

Despite the Moderate Danger rating, the snowpack this year warrants a conservative approach to entering bigger terrain. Good skiing with little wind effect can be found in most locations.

Weather Forecast

Friday will be mostly cloudy with only isolated flurries. Daytime highs of -12 in the alpine and the freezing levels will be near valley bottom. Winds will be mostly light.

Snowpack Summary

There is 20-30 cm of low density storm snow (with very little wind effect) at upper elevations. The snowpack at tree-line is about 2 metres deep and the mid-pack is relatively well settled above 1800 m. Several variable shears have been observed within the midpack. These shears should be assesses prior to committing to any bigger slopes.

Avalanche Summary

There was good visibility today and the field team observed evidence of an avalanche cycle from the past week including a number of skier triggered and natural avalanches around Lake Louise Ski Area and along the east side of the Banff Jasper Highway. There was no recent avalanche activity reported from Little Yoho Valley and the Wapta Icefields.

Confidence

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.