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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 17th, 2022–Jan 18th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Areas closed for avalanche control on Thursday are Mt Dennis, Mt. Field and Mt. Stephen. Mt. Cathedral highway paths will also be controlled. No recreational activities in these areas on Thursday.

Weather Forecast

Snow should taper tonight as a cold front passes dropping the temperatures overnight and through Tuesday by about 10 degrees. Winds should ease and skies will clear with a mix of sun an cloud tomorrow and clearer for Wednesday. Another, small system will cross the region Thursday.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds over the last few days has created widespread windslabs in the alpine and in some treeline areas. These overlie facets in many places, producing moderate to hard test results. The Dec. 2 crust and facets are generally 60-90cm deep in the snowpack. Some thin snowpack areas have lingering basal depth hoar and facets.

Avalanche Summary

This past week, 2 significant skier triggered avalanches occurred on the Dec 2 persistent layer. Only thin windslabs reported by the skihills with explosive control. Otherwise, no new avalanches were observed or reported on Sunday/Monday.

Confidence

Due to the quality of field observations

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.

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.