Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
Excellent conditions persist throughout the forecast region. With early starts, now is the time to attempt some classic ski peaks in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay. Be good...and be home early.
Weather Forecast
Temperatures will remain cool through late on Wednesday. Also, some light snow is expected (approx 9 cm) on Wednesday. Because of the modest amount of snow expected there will be little change to the danger rating.
Snowpack Summary
10-12cm of new snow over a supportive crust on all aspects and elevations today. Some moist snow at lower elevations. Snow pack becoming isothermal below 1700m later in the day. Small wind slabs present near ridge crests in the alpine from NW winds.
Avalanche Summary
Some loose sluffing out of steep terrain today up to size 1. Loose wet avalanches and cornice failures were also observed today on highway 93N.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.