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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2023–Jan 5th, 2023

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

Regions

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

Natural avalanches are tapering off, but human triggering is still a real possibility. Conservative decision making and careful terrain selection is required.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Both ski areas reported small avalanches with explosives. A road patrol to Bow Summit in good visibility showed no new avalanches in past 24 hours.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of soft surface snow in many areas gives good ski quality providing there is a supportive mid-pack. The mid-pack is generally weak with two persistent layers that show moderate results with snowpack tests. All slopes steep enough to slide should be considered suspect right now.

Weather Summary

An upper ridge over the area will persist through Friday. Thursday will see mainly sunny skies with some afternoon cloudy periods. Alpine winds will be SW at 30-40 km/hr. Alpine temperatures will be in the -5 to -10 range. Some light snow forecast for Friday.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.

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.

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.