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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 20th, 2013–Dec 22nd, 2013

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

Regions

Waterton Lakes.

The few cms of new snow have not overcome the early season conditions. Windslabs and shallow snowpack are the main concerns right now so traveling conservatively is important.

Weather Forecast

Weather pattern for the next few days will bring a trace of s to areas along the divide but no significant snowfall. Temperatures will be cool, in the minus teens, until things start to warm up on Monday.

Snowpack Summary

5 of very light new snow fell Wednesday to bring Little Prairie to 65cm. Summit Lake = 100 cm total. Instabilities within the 25 to 35 cm of storm slab and at the old snow faceted interface indicate skiers could trigger avalanches in steep unanchored terrain at higher elevation areas.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity observed.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

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.