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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 27th, 2024–Dec 28th, 2024

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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

The December crust is shallow enough to easily investigate its bond to overlying snow. Slabs over weak grains on the crust may be surprisingly reactive, especially in shallow, rocky areas.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Skiers remote-triggered a large wind slab from 100 m away in the Little Simpson area on Hudson Bay Mountain on Monday. It failed on faceted snow, a reminder that weak grains may extend the reactivity of wind slabs.

Up north, a 40 cm-deep layer of surface hoar on the early-December crust was recently reactive to skiers in the Ningunsaw area. The Ningunsaw slide path produced size 2.5 and size 3 avalanches on Monday and Tuesday night.

Share your observations on the MIN!

Snowpack Summary

Light new snow amounts have been combining with an aging wind slab problem and with otherwise heavily wind affected surfaces in the alpine and at treeline.

A crust from early December is the most prominent layer in the snowpack and is now buried 30 to 50 cm deep. In some areas, a weak layer of surface hoar may found at this interface. Faceted snow is perhaps more likely to find here and poses a similar problem.

The are no layers of concern below the early December crust.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Partly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5 °C.

Saturday

Mainly cloudy. 10 to 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries continuing from overnight. Minimal accumulations. Calm to 10 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Monday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. 5 to 10 km/h southeast ridgetop wind shifting southwest. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Seek out wind sheltered terrain below treeline where you can avoid wind slabs and find great riding.

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.