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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 21st, 2023–Nov 22nd, 2023

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

Regions

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

Temperatures, winds and up to 5 cm of new snow are forecast to fall Wednesday and we expect this to lower the avalanche danger.

Early Season Conditions means high variability right now. Some places are below threshold to avalanche, but if there is snow, be wary!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several avalanches up to size 2 were observed on Tuesday in the Bow Summit area. These were on both solar and shaded aspects and likely both cornice and temperature triggered.

In other areas, several wind triggered avalanche up to size 1.5 were observed in extreme alpine terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Recent strong to extreme winds have left alpine and treeline areas heavily scoured. Snowpack depths range from 30-50 cm at treeline and 40-80 cm in the alpine with deeper pockets of wind deposited snow in lee areas. A melt-freeze crust has formed on the surface from recent solar input on south and west aspects. The bottom of the snowpack consists of a buried crust and facets.

Weather Summary

An upper disturbance will bring snow on Wednesday. Only a few cms are expected along the divide and to the west but up to 5 cm may fall around the Banff townsite and possibly more to the east

Freezing levels are forecast to drop to valley bottom and winds die to light from the N

Thursday into Friday, a ridge sets up with dry, clear and calm conditions

Click here for more details

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Ice climbers should be equipped with avalanche safety gear.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

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.