Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 28th, 2023–Nov 29th, 2023

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Early Season

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Early Season

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Early Season

Regions

Brazeau, Cirrus-Wilson, Icefields.

The snowpack is generally shallow and weak. Avalanches are possible and may be problematic for ice climbers moving through snow-covered, high-consequence terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported.

Snowpack Summary

Wind has scoured exposed areas at tree line and above. Wind-loaded locations have between 25-45cm of snow sitting over a faceted base. In general, the snowpack is shallow.

Surface hoar up to 5mm has grown in recent cold temperatures.

Weather Summary

The Mountain Weather Forecast is available from Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

A ridge of high pressure continues to maintain dry conditions.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

Problems

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.