Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Feb 2 – 3, 2014Parks Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Good skiing West of the divide in sheltered areas.  Avoid thin areas in big alpine features as the basal layer can still be triggered.  SH

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Places which have a well defined sun crust will be the most susceptible to triggering a storm slab.  At the moment these are of lower consequence and thin (15-30cm) and isolated to specific terrain features.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    Thin snowpack areas in steep, alpine terrain will be the place to trigger the basal depth hoar/crust. 

Weather Forecast

Light N winds Sunday with a mix of sun and cloud and a trace of snow. Temperatures will again be in the minus 20's in the mornings, and highs in the -10 to -15C range.

Snowpack Summary

5-15cm of snow over the Jan 30th surface hoar/sun crust layer. Surface hoar most prominent at treeline and below. In Yoho today, thin wind slabs (15cm) over 5cm sun crust on steep S aspects reactive to skier triggering. The basal facets remain weak, but the overall snowpack is gaining strength. Glacial coverage very thin for this time of year.

Avalanche Summary

One size 2 natural cornice triggered avalanche on a SE aspect in Yoho occurred within the last 48 hours.  This was a thin slab in extreme terrain.

Confidence

on Sunday

Regions covered