Cornices
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 1–3
Cornices failures, combined with the hot temperatures, have the possibility to triggering the deep basal layers.
Avalanche forecast
View on mapBanff Yoho Kootenay
Apr 22 – 23, 2015Parks Canada
Archived · expired 11 years ago
Avalanche danger
Fri
Sat
Alpine
No rating
Treeline
No rating
Below
No rating
Highlights
Cooler temperatures forecasted for the next few days with a valley bottom freeze tonight. We should see wet avalanche activity taper off tomorrow.
Avalanche problems
Loose Wet
NNEESESSWWNW- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Likely
- Size
- 1–3
While the forecast suggests slightly cooler temps with cloud cover, any short burst of solar energy late in the day will induce wet avalanches.
Wet Slabs
NNEESESSWWNW- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 2–3
Wet slabs have been occurring in the heat of the day late afternoon-evening. They are mostly failing on a layer 40-60 cm down or in some cases scrubbing down to the ground. It will become less reactive with the cooler temperatures forecasted.
Weather Forecast
Valley bottom freezing levels forecasted for tonight with clear skies, except for along the Wapta where mainly cloudy skies are expected. Thursday will be a mix of sun and cloud with alpine highs around 0 with light west wind. The couple of days will be cooler than Monday and Tuesday.
Snowpack Summary
Supportive crust on solar aspects in morning which are deteriorating by mid day. High elevation north aspects still have dry snow. Mid pack is well settled with no significant shears. The basal facets remain the main weakness in the snowpack, but we expect only large loads or a dramatic rise in temperatures to cause failures on this layer.
Avalanche Summary
A natural wet slab avalanche cycle occurred on all aspects at treeline and above late Tuesday afternoon and into the evening . Slabs were up to size 3 and were 40-60 cm deep.