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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 8th, 2023–Dec 9th, 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

Fryatt, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.

This week's storm brought limited snow to this region however the snow that is there is sitting on a weak base of facets. Watch for lee or cross-loaded features where the slab sitting on top is stiffer and deeper.

The threat of early season hazards is real and just below the surface.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wednesday's patrol noted no significant avalanche observations as the storm brought far less snow to the region compared to the Parkway.

Snowpack Summary

5-10cm of new snow this week redistributed by strong winds has stripped many areas and formed windslabs where deposited. This snow overlies a midpack weak layer composed of surface hoar and facets or a melt-freeze crust depending on aspect or elevation. The snowpack is 30-40cm in depth with a weak facetted base.

A rain crust exists below 1800m.

Weather Summary

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

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud. Southwest ridgetop winds: 35 km/h. Alpine temperature: High -10 °C.

Sunday

A mix of sun and cloud. Winds picking up at ridgetop; southwest 25 km/h gusting to 55 km/h. Alpine temperature: Low -10 °C, High -6 °C.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

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.