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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 31st, 2023–Jan 1st, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Jordan, Shuswap, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Whatshan.

Be mindful a buried weak layer may persist within range of human triggering.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

  • Solar-triggered loose wet avalanches were reported in the warm weather on Saturday, mostly size 1 but up to size 2.

  • Explosive control work near Revelstoke on Saturday produced cornice and near-surface slab avalanches size 1.5-2.5.

  • A couple of natural wind slabs size 1-2 and a persistent slab size 1.5 have been reported out of steep, unsupported alpine features in the last couple of days.

Snowpack Summary

5-15 cm of new snow sits over a crust at elevations and aspects that saw above-zero temperatures and sun on Saturday.

The mid snowpack contains a couple of layers of note; a hard crust formed by an early December rain event around 60 cm deep and a layer of surface hoar 60 to 100 cm deep. Where it exists, the crust effectively bridges underlying weak layers, but the surface hoar remains a concern in areas that do not have the overlying crust.

The lower snowpack is variable throughout the region; in shallower snowpack areas, basal facets may exist.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Mostly cloudy with a trace of new snow, ridgetop wind <15 km/h west, treeline temperature -3 °C.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud, ridgetop wind 20-30 km/h southwest, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud, ridgetop wind 20-30 km/h southeast, treeline temperature -3 °C.

Wednesday

Sunny, ridgetop wind 20-30 km/h variable, treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.