Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Avalanche Control will occur tomorrow on Mt Bourgeau, Mt Stephen, Mt Field, and Mt Bosworth. No skiing or climbing in these areas.Give the windslab/facet interface a few days to settle and bond. JPK
Weather Forecast
Relatively warm winter temperatures, a little more snow and continued westerly winds are forecast for the area. This should be good news in the long term but it is expected that the new snow facet interface will take a while to bond.
Snowpack Summary
The storm has brought us 15 to 30 cm of new snow, with more falling on the West side of the Divide. Moderate to strong winds have created a windslab that overlays a very loose faceted snowpack. The windslab/facet interface produced easy results in our snowpack tests. The Nov crust is 30-80cm deep, and is not currently reactive.
Avalanche Summary
Monday saw an increase in avalanche activity that was not apparent today. Poor visibility may have limited 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.