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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 21st, 2022–Dec 22nd, 2022

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

Regions

Akamina, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South.

Watch for wind slab as you gain elevation. Keep it conservative, even a small accident can have big consequences during periods of cold temps and short days.

Check out this blog from our Yukon field team about managing the cold while traveling in avalanche terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed in the past few days.

If you are heading into the backcountry please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network report.

Snowpack Summary

Northerly winds have redistributed recent snow into wind slabs on south and east aspects and have cross loaded others. On south facing slopes wind slab could have formed over a sun crust. A layer of surface hoar down around 30cm can be found in sheltered terrain on all aspects up to 2000m, This layer could be a concern where wind slabs form above.

A weak layer consisting of facets and a crust formed in November is now buried around 60cm deep. This layer has produced large avalanches in the past week and continues to show reactivity in snowpack tests in the neighboring forecast region.

In general, the snowpack is quite faceted with average snowpack depths of around 150cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

No new snow expected. Light to moderate northeast winds and a Low of -32 at 1800m.

Thursday

Mostly sunny with no new snow expected. Light variable winds and a high of -25 at 1800m.

Friday

Cloudy with trace amounts of new snow expected. Southwest winds increasing to extreme at ridge top. High of -13 at 1800m.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with trace amounts of new snow expected. Moderate to strong southwest winds and a high of -6 at 1800m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.