Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 1st, 2022–Dec 2nd, 2022

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

Regions

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

The cold temperatures will continue to persist through Saturday, be prepared to stay warm in an emergency. Many early-season hazards are still lurking just below the surface.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Sunshine Ski patrol reported a few small size 1 slab avalanches that release from a steep treeline feature outside of the ski area boundary.

A fracture line profile was done Thursday on a skier-triggered avalanche in the Lake Louise backcountry. See MIN report

Snowpack Summary

20-40cm of recent snow redistributed by upper elevation winds has now settled into a slab overlying a weak layer of facets, surface hoar, or sun crust on steep south aspects. 40-80 cm of total snow exists at treeline throughout the region, with up to 120 cm in loaded alpine features.

Weather Summary

The surface ridge will persist over the Rockies, however, an upper disturbance passing to the southwest of Alberta will continue to bring cloud and scattered flurries to the Rockies. Expect higher snowfall amounts on the West slopes of the Rockies, with up to 5cm of accumulation in the Little Yoho area. Winds are expected to increase through the day Friday.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • If triggered, loose dry avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.

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.

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.