Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 6th, 2012–Dec 9th, 2012

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Waterton Lakes.

There is skiing ABOVE 1900m! However below 1900m there is not enough snow to travel off summer trails. Watch for early season hazards: stumps and rocks that may be just hidden near the surface. Ice climbs are slowly reforming.

Weather Forecast

Cooling trend will continue with light precip Fri and Sat. Sun will be coolest and driest. Winds are expected to remain in the moderate range out of the W and SW.

Snowpack Summary

Little to no snow below 1500m. At 1800m there is approx 80 cm with several buried crusts. This does not allow easy travel off of summer trails.  At 2000m there is over 150 cm with crusts found only at the bottom of the snowpack. There is a high degree of variability in snowpack depth due to recent strong W and SW winds.

Avalanche Summary

A few avalanches have been seen out of extreme terrain on the lee sides of exposed ridges. These events may have been triggered by sloughing off of steep terrain or by cornice failures. Although the sizes of these events have been small they have traveled a long way in confined terrain: gullies and couloirs.

Confidence

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.