Avalanche forecast

Waterton Lakes

Dec 17 – 20, 2013Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Early season hazards remain. Use careful route selection and conservative travel technique. The very windy week has left us with a mangled snowpack!

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    A week of windy weather has stiffened the skiable terrain. Triggering may still be possible. Watch for these conditions in appealing looking open areas.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Associated with mid pack crusts we see a layer of sugary crystals underlying stiffer upper layers. Use more caution in thin areas as triggering  may be more likely.

Weather Forecast

By Thursday the westerly flow shifts to a cold northerly flow with temperatures falling to low minus teens.10cm of snow expected through Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds continued to stiffen upper snowpack creating slab like conditions. A layer of less dense snow in the proximity of the Nov 15 thin temperature crust is buried by about half a meter of denser snow. It may not trigger easily. Watch loaded gullies, cross loaded terrain and other lee areas at all aspects. Still shallow at lower elevation.

Avalanche Summary

No recent activity has been reported.

Confidence

Regions covered