Avalanche forecast

Cariboos

Dec 6 – 7, 2012Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 14 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate

Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–5
    Deep and dense wind slabs are likely in exposed lee slopes and cross-loaded gullies well below ridge crests.
  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–6
    Although the likelihood of a release is low, the consequences of a persistent slab release are high. These layers may wake-up with additional loading.

Confidence

Poor - Due to limited field observations for the entire period

Weather Forecast

Friday: The effects of a ridge of high pressure building over the pacific will result in generally broken skies with the chance of locally light precipitation. Winds light from the northwest. Alpine temperatures -9.Saturday: Generally sunny skies and cooler temperatures. Light northwesterly winds and temperatures near -13 in the alpine.Sunday: Increasing clouds as a warm front approaches from the northwest.

Avalanche Summary

There are limited recent observations from this Region. Recent reports indicate a few natural avalanches to size 2.5 in the past 48 hours running in the recent storm snow 60-80cm deep on a north aspect at 2200m.

Snowpack Summary

40-60 cm of storm snow has fallen over the past 5 days. Instabilities (surface hoar layer, and a thin sun crust) may exist within or down 40-60 cm. We have very limited information on the extent or sensitivity of these layers, but suspect them to be reactive under the load of the new snow. A second buried surface hoar layer, down about 115 cm, and the early November rain crust (facet-crust combo), over 140cm down in some locations, remain a concern for isolated deep slab avalanches.Average snow depths at treeline seem to be between 140cm and 180cm. Elevations below 1500m are still reported as below threshold.In general, snowpack data is sparse in this region and significant variations likely exist from one drainage to another. Digging down and making your own observations will be critical to safe slope selection. Any observations from the field are welcome at [email protected].

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