Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 13th, 2019 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Deep Persistent Slabs and Wind Slabs.
stephen holeczi,
Parks Canada
Basal facets, crusts and depth hoar are everywhere. If you head into committing terrain, it will be a bit of a gamble whether you will trigger a slope as these layers are hard to predict. A classic rockies snowpack!
Summary
Weather Forecast
Lows of -10C in the valley Saturday AM and alpine temperatures around -15C. Mainly light NW winds and no significant snow is in the forecast for the next few days.
Snowpack Summary
Variable wind slabs from the past 2 days have formed mainly in the alpine. Beneath the recent 40-60 cm of storm snow, the snowpack structure is generally weak, consisting of facets and depth hoar. The Nov crust is present up to 2500m and ~30 cm up from ground. Snowpack depths at treeline range from 80-160 cm.
Avalanche Summary
There were no avalanches reported Friday which is a big change from earlier in the week when there were many reports of either windslabs or deep persistent slabs with avalanche control and natural activity.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
The recent snow sits over weak facet and crust layers. As time goes on the chance of triggering is becoming less likely, but there is lots of uncertainty as to where you could trigger an avalanche and what it will take to get it moving.
- Be aware of thin areas that may propogate to deeper instabilites.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Variable wind slab development over the last couple of days mainly in the alpine but also in some wind exposed treeline features. These are losing sensitivity to human triggering but will need a few days to settle out completely.
- Caution on open steep slopes at treeline that have been exposed to wind loading.
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading has created slabs over weaker snow.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 14th, 2019 4:00PM
