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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 11th, 2015–Dec 12th, 2015

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

Regions

Little Yoho.

The skiing is excellent but make sure you stop, dig down, and test the Dec 3 surface hoar layer which is widespread below 1900m. Ice climbers around Field should pay particular attention to this, as many of the routes are in this elevation band.

Weather Forecast

Saturday will be overcast with a few flurries but little in the way of accumulations. Temperatures will range from -4 to -10 and winds will be light to moderate from the west.

Snowpack Summary

In most places below 1900m, a 30-50 cm soft slab of recent storm snow sits over the December 3rd surface hoar. This is producing easy shears in snow pit tests and slowly settling into a more cohesive slab. In the alpine, winds from the recent storm have left wind slabs in lee areas.

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche control on Friday at the Lake Louise ski resort produced slab avalanches in alpine lee areas up to size 2. Small loose snow avalanches were also observed in steep alpine terrain.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

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.