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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 23rd, 2022–Nov 25th, 2022

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, 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

Lake Louise.

Thursday looks to be warm and sunny, so watch your exposure on south aspects. Early season conditions remain with a thin snowpack, lots of variability in snow depth, and plenty of lurking hazards to hit.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Lake Louise ski area triggered one small windslab in steep alpine terrain today with explosives, otherwise, no new avalanches observed or reported. Minimal observations due to early season conditions.

Snowpack Summary

Lots of wind-affected surfaces in alpine and open treeline areas. The snowpack is thin with a breakable sun crust on steep south aspects and weak facets on north aspects. 40-70 cm of total snow at treeline throughout the region, with up to 120 cm in loaded alpine features. Below treeline, the snowpack is generally below the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

Thursday looks to be warm and windy with clear skies and alpine winds in the strong to extreme range from the SW. Temperatures will start cool but will approach zero as the day warms. Friday will see the winds decrease into the moderate to strong range as snow arrives. Expect ~ 5-10 cm on Friday and again on Saturday as the drought finally comes to an end!

For more information specific to the forecast region, see https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.