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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 16th, 2021–Jan 17th, 2021

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Banff Yoho Kootenay.

Alpine winds remain elevated on Sunday so watch for some wind loading in steep overhead terrain and gullies. Good skiing can be found in areas sheltered from the wind and travel is easy. Enjoy!

Weather Forecast

A cloudy day on Sunday with alpine winds out of the West in the moderate to strong range with a couple cm's of new snow forecast for the day. Treeline temperatures should be fairly steady between -6 and -8 C with light winds at lower elevations.

Snowpack Summary

Wind effect in exposed alpine and treeline terrain. Thin sun crust on steep sheltered S aspects and a rain crust below 1500 m in eastern areas. Jan 11th interface down 15-30 cm with surface hoar found in isolated locations. Dec 25th, 13th and 7th layers are down 40-110 cm and generally produce hard or no results. Nov crust present near the ground.

Avalanche Summary

One size 2 natural, 20-30 cm deep from the last 48 hrs on a very steep roll below treeline in Kootenay, possibly triggered by wind loading. Two natural cornice triggered size 2's in the alpine observed in Kootenay in the past 48 hrs. Ski hills reported a few small wind slabs in immediate lee areas and one size 2 on facets below recent storm snow.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.