Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Dec 15th, 2017 3:53PM

The alpine rating is low, the treeline rating is low, and the below treeline rating is low.

Avalanche Canada swerner, Avalanche Canada

Even though the avalanche hazard is LOW, pockets of unstable snow could be found in isolated terrain features. Early season hazards with a shallow snowpack are still encountered.

Summary

Confidence

High - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures -10. Ridgetop wind moderate from the west.Sunday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Snow accumulations vary through the region with 2-5 cm in the north and 5-10 cm in the south. Alpine temperatures near -10. Ridgetop wind moderate to strong from the west.Monday: Mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures near -10. Ridgetop wind strong from the west.Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast for more detail.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity.Submit your observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Isolated pockets of wind slab may be found on easterly aspects in the alpine, while windward slopes have been scoured down to the old rain crust or rock. Sun crusts have formed on southerly slopes and in sheltered treeline and below treeline terrain, very large feathery surface hoar and surface facets (sugary snow) exist. These crystals do not pose hazard to us now, but once they get buried by new snow they can form a weak layer that could become reactive later. The two crusts that were buried near the end of November can now be found approximately 15-20 cm down. A third crust from the end of October exists as a "facet/crust" combo near the base of the snowpack approximately 50-100 cm down and recent snowpack tests done on this layer are showing hard to no significant results. These rain crusts will likely be with us all winter but may not pose a problem until we see a significant change in the weather.Check out this video from our South Rockies Field Team.

Valid until: Dec 16th, 2017 2:00PM