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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 12th, 2023–Nov 13th, 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.

As the weekend's snowfall bears off, we are coming out of the first minor avalanche cycle of the season.

While there is a bit more snow around, remember that we are still dealing with Early Season Conditions and that forecasters are dealing with very limited observations.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

Following Saturday's storm, the ski hills reported skier triggering windslabs and loose dry avalanches up to sz 1.5 at treeline and above. Today Lake Louise triggered a sz 2 slab off of the ridge crest in NW facing terrain at 2500m that was 30 wide and 30cm deep running 400m confined to a gully. This slab failed 5cm off of the ground on a crust thought to be from late October.

Snowpack Summary

The recent storms have brought 10 to 30cm of snow at TL redistributed by strong south winds.

At treeline and above, this snow has fallen on a shallow early season snowpack that the wind had redistributed into pockets of reactive windslab in sheltered features. A crust can be expected above this old snow in some locations.

Treeline HS values are around 40-80 cm.

Weather Summary

A cold front is presently passing the area dropping TL temps to -10C and up to 5cm more snow. Winds will shift to the west and remain strong in the alpine.

Trace amounts of snow can be expected Tuesday as the winds back off a bit and temperatures remain steady.

For more info please see the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • Ice climbers should be equipped with avalanche safety gear.
  • Small avalanches may cause climbers to fall or belayers and gear to become buried.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.