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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 9th, 2023–Dec 10th, 2023

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

Regions

Purcells, South Columbia, East Purcell, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Storm snow remains triggerable at higher elevations. Continue to be conservative

Strong winds will likely build reactive slabs around ridgelines and mid slope rollovers.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Natural activity continued yesterday in areas that received snowfall like the east Purcells. Remotely triggered avalanches continue to occur at high elevations, above the rain crust in nearby regions.

Small, naturally triggered deep persistent slabs were observed on basal facets yesterday, near Invermere. This is likely only a problem in very shallow snowpacks like the east Purcells.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds will redistribute 20-40 cm of recent snow into deeper deposits on north and east facing slopes. This snow covers a widespread crust from the rain. In the south this crust is up to 25 cm thick and extends to ridgetop. The crust thins to around 5 cm as you move north from Revelstoke, and is observed up to 2300 m. Near Invermere the crust has been observed to around 2100 m.

The greatest concern is a large and weak layer of surface hoar, found 45-80 cm deep. This surface hoar sits on a thin sun crust on steep south-facing slopes.

The mid-pack is generally well-settled. Lower in the snowpack a crust with weak facets beneath it can be found 20 cm off the ground.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow possible overnight. Treeline temperatures around -9 °C. Southwest winds 40-60 km/h.

Sunday

Cloudy with another 5 cm of snow possible. Winds ease to 40 km/h from the west. Treeline temperatures around -4 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with no snow expected. Light and variable winds. Treeline temperatures reach -6 °C.

Tuesday

Clearing skies with no snow expected. Light and variable winds. Treeline temperatures reach -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Use careful route-finding and stick to moderate slope angles with low consequences.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.