Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! What a beautiful forecast to start the new year - lots of great skiing/boarding/climbing to be had! ENJOY!
Weather Forecast
A strong ridge of high pressure will dominate the region through the weekend bringing lots of sunshine and calm winds. There will be no inversion tomorrow but alpine temperatures will remain warm for Friday and Saturday with freezing levels forecast to be around 1800 m.
Snowpack Summary
A well settled snowpack with few weaknesses exists throughout the region. Isolated wind slabs up to size 1.5 exist on leeward slopes at treeline and above from recent wind effect. Below 2000m, the Dec 3 layer of surface hoar remains visible and produces hard, planar test results in some areas but has not been reactive to skier traffic.
Avalanche Summary
Several natural and skier triggered wind slabs up to size 1.5 have been observed in the past week at and above treeline. Loose snow avalanches to size 2 out of steep solar terrain were observed again today with the warming temperatures. Several natural cornice failures to size 2 have also been reported over the past few days.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field 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.
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.