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 exist in most of the region. If you head into committing terrain, it could 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 -10 in the valley bottoms Saturday AM and -15C in the alpine with light NW winds and no significant snow. This cool and stagnant weather pattern should persist for most of the weekend.
Snowpack Summary
There has been variable wind slab development mainly in the alpine over the last two days. Beneath the recent 40-60 cm of storm snow, the snowpack structure is generally weak with facets and depth hoar where under 1 meter. The exception so far has been the Takakkaw falls area which has a much deeper and stronger snowpack at treeline and below.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches reported Friday. Earlier in the week some avalanches to size 3 were observed from both explosive control and natural activity.
Confidence
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
The recent snow sits over weak facet and crust layers. Where they exist it will be hard to predict what it will take to cause an avalanche. The Takakkaw Falls area is the only place so far where these haven't been found due to a deeper snowpack.
- 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.
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading has created slabs over weaker snow.
- Caution on open steep slopes at treeline that have been exposed to wind loading.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 14th, 2019 4:00PM
