Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
The storm snow continues to settle and bond to the underlying surfaces, but it remains touchy in steep convexities and in thin, alpine features.
Weather Forecast
Bit of a split in weather within the region, with the northern portions having clear to scattered clouds and cool morning temp's. The southern portions may see scattered flurries with up to 5cm. No significant winds for the next couple of days.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 60 cm of storm snow since Friday has settled to 30-40 cm. Cool temp's have solidified the upper snowpack and the bond to the storm snow interface. The storm slabs remain touchy to trigger in the alpine, especially in thin, faceted areas. A team in Yoho observed a 50cm slab on facets that failed very easily in tests in the moraines.
Avalanche Summary
A field team up the Yoho Valley towards Takakkaw Falls observed several sz 3-3.5 avalanches that had run near the end of the last storm (72+hrs). No new avalanches observed in the last 24 hours, but whumphing/settling observed in wind-affected alpine features.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.