Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 17th, 2024 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs.
Avalanche Canada,
Avalanche Canada
There is uncertainty with snowfall amounts Tuesday night through Wednesday in the south of the region where higher amounts are expected. Danger is rated for areas with higher snowfall.
Summary
Confidence
Low
Avalanche Summary
A few small (size 1 to 1.5) wind slab avalanches were reported on Monday in the Valemount area on all aspects in the alpine 20 to 30 cm deep.
Data is very limited in this region. Please submit your observations to the MIN (Mountain Information Network)
Snowpack Summary
20 to 40 cm fresh snow accumulated over the weekend. At upper elevations, southwesterly winds redistributed snow to lee features.
A surface hoar layer is now buried 30 to 60 cm and is most prevalent from 1700 to 2200 m. This layer has not been reactive to rider traffic, however we will continue to monitor it as more snow loads above it. Where there's no surface hoar, a crust is found at this layer boundary.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with scattered flurries north of Blue River. Cloudy with snow, accumulation 5-15 cm in the south of the region. 25 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -13 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered flurries, accumulation 3 to 8 cm north of Blue River. Cloudy with snow, accumulation 5-10 cm in the south of the region. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Thursday
Mainly cloudy with sunny breaks. 35 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Friday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. 30 to 50 km/h west and southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
- Investigate the bond of the recent snow before committing to your line.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Investigate for wind-loaded pockets, especially around ridges and open bowls.
A currently unreactive surface hoar layer is buried 30 to 60 cm. We are tracking this layer as reactivity may increase as more snow loads into a slab above.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 18th, 2024 4:00PM
