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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 2nd, 2022–Dec 3rd, 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.

Human triggering of avalanches on the weak basal facets is still possible, and the thin early-season snowpack is hiding many hazards just below the snow surface. Use caution in steep terrain.

The cold temperatures will persist through Saturday, be prepared to stay warm in an emergency.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A number of wind-triggered loose dry avalanches up to size 1.5 were observed in steep alpine terrain on Friday. A few small wind slabs and several slabs on the basal facets up to size 2 have occurred in the past week.

Snowpack Summary

Some wind slabs building in the alpine with moderate to strong W/SW winds. 20-40 cm of recent snow sits over a very 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 persists over the Rockies on Saturday, with generally clear skies and cool temperatures. Treeline temperatures should moderate slightly to around -15°C by mid-day. Winds will be westerly in the moderate to strong range at the upper elevations.

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.