Avalanche Forecast
Avalanche Bulletin - Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks
The first day of spring was a blustery one near Lake Louise! The winds have destroyed the good quality surface snow and changed the conditions dramatically in the past 24-hours. This is not the case everywhere and some areas have received new snow.
Avalanche Problem 1: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading have created wind slabs.
Avalanche Problem 2: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
On steep solar terrain the recent storm snow (20-30cm) is sitting on a suncrust that was buried on March 15. These types of problems can be tricky due to their isolated nature, but be cautious on any steep south or west facing terrain in the alpine.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Minimize exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
Avalanche Summary
A size 1 windslab was triggered by skiers on a classic leeward slope under a cornice today - 25 cm deep by 50 m wide. Several large avalanches have been triggered by skiers over the past few days - these seem to be in isolated locations but the common theme has been West aspect on suncrust.
Snowpack Summary
Convective flurries have deposited new snow in some areas of the park and not in others, so the surface conditions are quite variable. 24-hr of wind near Lake Louise has created widespread wind effect in all open terrain at treeline and in the alpine. On south and west aspects these slabs may bond poorly to a suncrust down approximately 30-50 cm.
Weather Forecast
The unsettled weather continues again on Wednesday with clouds and a few flurries ending by noon - the afternoon should see some clearing and freezing levels reaching 2100 m. Friday might be the snowy day this week and temperatures are forecast to fall below -15 for the start of the weekend.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Avalanche Bulletin - Banff, Yoho, and Kootenay National Parks URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/banff-yoho-kootenay.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
24 hours of sustained winds from the SW has created windslabs up to 30 cm thick in leeward areas, mostly in the alpine. The are unlikely to release naturally but can be triggered by skiers and climbers.