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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 27th, 2023–Dec 28th, 2023

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

Regions

South Columbia, Shuswap, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Whatshan.

Avalanche conditions appear to be improving, but it's crucial to stay alert as a buried layer of surface hoar may persist within range of human triggering.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A small, human-triggered, slab avalanche (size 1) stepped down to basal facets in the far west of the region, in an area with a very shallow snowpack ( approximately 20 to 50 cm).

Otherwise, no persistent slab avalanches have been reported since last weekend.

Please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

The upper snowpack is generally well settled, with some lingering wind-affected surfaces in alpine terrain.

The mid-pack contains several layers of note. A combination of surface hoar and a crust exists down 20 to 50 cm. A significant crust from the early December rain event is down roughly 60 cm, while another layer of buried surface hoar may be present down roughly 60 to 100 cm from the surface.

The make-up of the lower snowpack is variable throughout the region, in shallower snowpack areas, basal facets may exist

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloud building overnight with trace precipitation, southwest alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -3 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday

Mix of sun and cloudy with no precipitation, southeast alpine winds 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday

Mostly clear with no precipitation, southeast alpine winds 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C with a chance of alpine temperature inversions.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid convexities, steep unsupported terrain and rocky outcroppings.
  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.