Avalanche forecast

Banff Yoho Kootenay

Nov 17 – 18, 2013Parks Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
No rating
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Highlights

It is early season and many places do not have enough snow for good skiing. Snow is accumulating in gullies and lee features. Skiers and ice climbers should be aware of increased wind loading going on over the next two days. CJ

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    With increasing winds and new snow you can expect sluffing and new wind slabs to start forming by Sunday afternoon. The previous wind slabs from Friday remain a concern and are still susceptible to human triggering.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    In alpine areas the recent storm snow has begun to settle into a slab and sits over facets or the October 27 melt freeze crust. Several recent failures have been observed. Use caution in steeper terrain as the snowpack in general is quite weak.

Weather Forecast

An additional 10-15cm is expected on Sunday with strong W winds in the alpine and cool temperatures. Monday and Tuesday remain cool with a few flurries and a mix of sun and cloud.

Snowpack Summary

20-40cm of storm slab sits over the previous surfaces at tree line and above. Previous moderate to strong W winds created soft and hard slabs on N and E aspects. Above 2400m the Oct 27 melt freeze crust exists near the base of the snowpack and continues to provide a good sliding layer. The base of the snowpack consists largely of facets.

Avalanche Summary

Several slabs have been observed in alpine areas over the past 36 hours up to size 2. At higher elevations these are running on either the Oct 27 melt freeze crust or at the storm snow interface. Cornices are growing and fragile and several natural and human triggered failures have been observed recently.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Regions covered