Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 12th, 2023 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
mbender,
Avalanche Canada
Recent southwest winds have promoted wind slab formation at upper elevations.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Reports from Sunday and Monday show explosives controlled wind slab avalanches running to size 1.5 in the alpine and treeline.
Snowpack Summary
Recent moderate to strong southwest winds have redistributed surface snow into deeper pockets in leeward terrain features. In some areas, you may also find a thin, frozen crust near the surface.
40-60 cm of recent snow seems to be bonding well to the wet or frozen surface left behind by recent, heavy rain. A hard melt-freeze crust is forming at this interface, observed up to 5 cm thick in some places.
Beneath the upper crust, the remainder of the rain-moistened snowpack is slowly refreezing as freezing level remains below valley bottom.
Snowpack depths vary across the forecast area. 50 to 120 cm at treeline, tapering rapidly below treeline.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Mainly Cloudy. Light west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -8 °C, with possible temperature inversion in the alpine.
Wednesday
Mix of sun and cloud. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -3°C, with possible temperature inversion in the alpine.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. Light snow with 1-3 cm accumulation. Moderate to strong southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5°C.
Friday
Mainly cloudy. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6°C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
- Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Watch out for reactive wind slabs in leeward terrain features such as ridgecrests and roll-overs.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 13th, 2023 4:00PM
