Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 26th, 2023 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs and Wind Slabs.
zryan,
Avalanche Canada
There have been no field observations in the past few days. Submit a MIN if you head out!
Uncertainty around buried weak layers is best managed with conservative terrain choices.
Summary
Confidence
Avalanche Summary
There have been very few reports from this region in the past few days.
Over the weekend, there were numerous reports of natural and skier-triggered persistent slabs, mainly at treeline, up to size 2. Check out this MIN from Powder King on Saturday and this MIN in Torpy on Friday. We suspect these avalanches ran on one of the surface hoar layers in the top meter of the snowpack.
Looking forward to Wednesday, buried weak layers continue to be the main concern.
Snowpack Summary
Recent strong winds have created heavily wind-affected surfaces in the alpine and treeline. Below treeline a new crust is on or near the surface.
The mid pack contains several layers of note; a layer of surface hoar and a crust down 20 to 30 cm , a significant crust from the early December rain event down around 50 cm and a layer of surface hoar down 60 to 100 cm.
Snowpack depth throughout this region is highly variable and as a result the depths of the above mentioned layers are approximate and could be different than what you find in your riding area.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Clearing. Southwest alpine wind 80 km/h dropping to 40 km/h. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level dropping to valley bottom.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud. Southwest alpine wind 40 to 60 km/h. Treeline temperature rising to 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 2500 m in the south, 1500 m in the north.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud. Southwest alpine wind 40 to 60 km/h. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. South alpine wind 30 to 50 km/h. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level rising to 2500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Any steep opening in the trees should be treated as suspect right now.
- Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
- Use careful route-finding and stick to moderate slope angles with low consequences.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Buried surface hoar remains rider triggerable. This layer is a concern in areas where a significant crust is not found above it.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Recent strong southerly winds have formed wind slabs on a variety of aspects in lee features in exposed terrain at treeline and above.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 27th, 2023 4:00PM
