While the green brick emerges west of us, BYK remains concerned about lingering, persistent weak layers: basal facets, which one person triggered on Tuesday and rode to a waist-deep burial, and the Jan 3 surface hoar, which has not produced an avalanche recently, but appears in random places and gives sudden planar test results.
Basal facets remain near the ground. The remaining concern centres on the eastern side of the forecast area, particularly in thin to thick snowpack transition areas.
On Tuesday, just outside the Lake Louise ski area boundary, one person triggered a size 2, 40-70 cm deep on a west-facing, cross-loaded slope at 2450 m. They appear to be the 7th track down the slope and hit the sweet spot near a thin area that released the avalanche near the ground. The person was buried to their waist and lost their skis, but otherwise uninjured.
Surface hoar growth is widespread, as the next persistent weak layer forms on the surface, while constant winds have blasted the alpine snow surfaces. Meanwhile, treeline areas are experiencing surface facetting, which is creating soft snow in some areas.
Deeper in the snowpack is a layer of surface hoar, down 50-60 cm, and still producing hard, sudden planar test results. While basal facets exist in thin snowpack areas, overall, the deep snowpack is stronger than usual.
The strong ridge of high pressure dominating BC and AB remains stationary, with no change expected for at least another 7 days. Over the next week, expect clear skies, NW winds and cold temperatures, with lows on Thursday night down to -25. Weather models are calling for a pattern change starting around Tuesday, Jan 27, when the winds return to a westerly flow, temperatures moderate and light snow begins to fall.
