Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Dec 15 – 16, 2019Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 7 years ago

Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

Basal facets, crusts and depth hoar are found in many places. Use caution if you're heading into committing terrain, as it's a bit of a gamble whether you will trigger a slope, these layers are hard to predict.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Variable wind slab development from two days ago persists, mainly in the alpine but also in some wind exposed treeline features. These are losing sensitivity to human triggering but will need a few days to settle out completely.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–3

    The recent snow sits over weak facet and crust layers. As time goes on the chance of triggering is becoming less likely, but there is lots of uncertainty as to where you could trigger an avalanche and what it will take to get it moving.

Weather Forecast

The light Northwesterly flow will bring slightly coolers temps and start a clearing trend. We will see a mix of sun and cloud on Sunday and an alpine high of -14 with light westerly winds. Expect short periods of snow flurries, but no significant snow accumulations until midweek.

Snowpack Summary

Pockets of wind slab linger in alpine areas. Beneath the recent 40-60 cm of storm snow, the snowpack structure is generally weak, consisting of facets and depth hoar. The Nov crust is present up to 2500m and ~30 cm up from ground. Snowpack depths at treeline range from 80-160 cm.

Avalanche Summary

No new natural avalanche activity for the past two days, though explosive avalanche control at the local ski areas have produced results up to size 2 recently, with some stepping down to the Nov crust layer.

Confidence

Regions covered