Regions
Banff Yoho Kootenay.
The drought continues. Dress super warm for any outside activities on Wednesday as we reach into the -30's. Ice climbers note: we will be doing an ice rescue practice on Rogan's Gully on Wednesday and Thursday this week, so please avoid this climb.
Weather Forecast
The cold, dry spell continues for a few more days with lows of -30 for Wednesday and light winds from the north. Slight warming to the mid teens is predicted for the later half of this week (Thurs and Fri).
Snowpack Summary
5-10 cm of recent snow sits on the January 30th surface hoar below treeline. In the alpine this recent snow is over a firm wind slab or a thick sun crust on S & W aspects. The snowpack has gained strength over the past few weeks, and snowpack tests are now producing hard results 20 cm above the ground in the facetted base layer.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed or reported.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
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.