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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 16th, 2023–Dec 17th, 2023

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

Regions

Cariboos, North Columbia, Blue River, Clearwater, Premier, Quesnel, Clemina, Esplanade, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Central Selkirk.

Start on small slopes and watch for signs of instability, overhead hazard and a buried layer of weak surface hoar.

Riders continue to be surprised by large avalanches sliding on this layer.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Touchy, small to large (up to size 2.5) rider-triggered persistent slab avalanches continue to be reported northwest of Golden. This indicates that the early December surface hoar layer is still easy to trigger in certain terrain. They have mostly occurred in treeline terrain, but have been reported as low as 1950 m. Check out this MIN from the adjacent region. It paints a clear picture.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 20 cm of new snow and moderate southwest wind has formed new windslabs over old wind-affected snow, sun crusts on steep south aspects, and surface hoar in sheltered areas. 25 to 40 cm below the snow surface, a rain crust has been observed up to 2100 m around Revelstoke, 1500 m around Mica Creek, and not at all around Blue River.

A concerning layer of surface hoar is now buried 50-80 cm deep. This layer has recently been reactive to human triggering above 1900 m.

The lower snowpack is generally faceted, but shows signs of strengthening and rounding. A hard crust may be found near the ground.

Average treeline snowpack depths are around 80-120 cm. Snowpack tapers rapidly as you move lower in elevation.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy. No new snow expected. Light west ridgetop wind. Treeline low around -4°C. Freezing level around 1250, dropping to valley bottom by morning.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. No new snow expected. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -3°C. Possible temperature inversion.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Light south or southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5 °C. Possible alpine temperature inversion.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Light south or southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5 °C. Possible alpine temperature inversion.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

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.

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.