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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 11th, 2012–Dec 12th, 2012

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Rockies.

Confidence

Fair

Weather Forecast

Wednesday: Light SW winds.  Alpine temp -9. Light snow.Thursday: Moderate to strong W winds. Alpine temp -10. Light snow.Friday: Light W winds. Alpine temp -12. Light snow.

Avalanche Summary

Numerous size 1 sluffs and shallow natural wind slabs were observed on Sunday in the southern Elk Valley. On Monday, touchy small soft slabs were observed in the immediate lee of ridge crests.

Snowpack Summary

Recent dry snow has been transported by strong NW to W winds, creating wind slabs in some lee areas. Loose snow spilling onto fans has also created localized loading. Below this, the snowpack is reported to be well-settled. Below about 1400 m (or as high as 1800 m on some slopes), snowpack depth is below threshold for avalanches. Cornices have grown large in some areas.You may find a couple of layers of interest: A buried rain crust fizzles out at about 1800 m. A localized layer of surface hoar buried about 1 m down may still exist in sheltered pockets. At the base of the snowpack, a variable early November crust/facet layer exists. Recently, snowpack tests have shown hard results on this layer and no deep releases have been observed. It will remain in the back of our minds as a possible failure layer with very heavy snow loading or cornice fall.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.