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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 27th, 2020–Feb 28th, 2020

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.

Great skiing continues in sheltered areas. Watch for new wind slabs in lee areas and stay curious about snowpack depths as thinner areas will likely have more pronounced basal facets and a weaker base.

Weather Forecast

Temperatures remain fairly warm on Friday with treeline staying around -5'C near the divide but getting warmer on the eastern slopes. Winds will remain in the moderate range out of the SW. We will see continued flurries with a couple cm's of new snow during the day and more intense flurries starting in the evening.

Snowpack Summary

Wind effect in the alpine due to gusty SW winds. New wind slabs in lee areas. 10-20 cm of recent snow over buried sun crust on steep solar aspects. The Feb 1 rain crust is down 20-50 cm and present below 1900 m. In thin snow pack areas a dense mid-pack sits over a weak, faceted base. Thick snowpack areas have a denser base with few weaknesses.

Avalanche Summary

Local ski hills reported newly formed wind slabs isolated to immediate lee slopes near ridge crests. Ski patrol and Visitor Safety teams were able to ski cut size 1 avalanches on this layer. Some large sluffs out of extreme rocky terrain up to size 1.5 were reported and one natural cornice failure was observed.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Friday

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.

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.