Banff Yoho Kootenay

Excellent ski travel continues with the cooler temperatures. Monitor slopes for local wind slab formation and how they are bonding to the harder surfaces below. SH

Freezing levels to valley bottom overnight and up to 1900m for Friday with very little snow. Winds will stay in the light range and will switch to Westerly on Friday. Some snow is currently in the forecast for Saturday (up to 10cm).

Below treeline the snow pack is a melt-freeze crust.10-20 cm of new snow in the alpine is forming wind slabs on E and N aspects.The midpack above treeline is well settled and overlies a weak facetted base. These basal facets have not been reactive recently, but should still be considered when making terrain choices, especially in thin rocky areas.

A size 2 on a steep (40+ degree) moraine feature was triggered yesterday by a party exiting from Peyto hut with no involvement.  The slide was approximately 100m wide and was the site of recent wind loading.  The slide stepped to ground showing that the basal facets are mainly dormant, but features like these are still possible to initiate.