Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 24th, 2015 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs.
conrad janzen,
Avalanche Canada
Low, Low, Low, Merry Christmas!
Continue to evaluate steep alpine terrain for small wind slabs and enjoy the great start to the season!
Summary
Weather Forecast
The NW flow continues through Christmas bringing cold and stable weather with no new snow in the forecast until at least the 26th. Upper elevation winds will begin to increase late in the day on Christmas and continue through the 26th. Treeline temperatures should stay between -10 and -16'C
Snowpack Summary
A well settled snowpack with few weaknesses exists throughout the region. Some small isolated wind slabs may exist on leeward slopes in the high alpine. Below 2000m the Dec 3 layer of surface hoar remains visible and produces hard, planar test results in some areas. This weakness is strengthening. Thin snow pack areas are beginning to facet out.
Avalanche Summary
No new natural slab avalanches have been observed recently. Some sluffing has been observed in really steep terrain due to the low density surface snow.
Confidence
Problems
Persistent Slabs
The slab above the Dec 3 surface hoar layer has not been very reactive recently. Snow pack tests produce shears in the moderate to hard range and the weakness appears to be strengthening.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
- Use caution on open slopes and convex rolls at treeline where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 25th, 2015 4:00PM
