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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 28th, 2023–Nov 29th, 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.

Be careful if venturing into deeper snowpack or wind-loaded pockets where denser snow sits over a weak base.

The snowpack remains very thin for this time of the year and Early Season Conditions persist.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported or observed on Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

Strong westerly winds have moved last weeks storm snow and blew away much of the surface hoar. Generally, the snowpack is thin and wind-scoured with a thin suncrust on south and west aspects. The bottom of the snowpack consists of weak basal facets and a spotty melt-freeze crust from late October.

The snowpack is 30-50 cm deep at treeline with many areas still below threshold, and up to 90 cm in deeper alpine areas.

Weather Summary

Wednesday should see the alpine winds decrease as clouds move in and light flurries start in the afternoon. Thursday to Friday will be benign with partly cloudy skies, light winds and light flurries with no significant accumulation.

On the weekend, we may start to see a change with a system moving in from BC....

For more weather forecast details, click here.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

Problems

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.