Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Dec 21 – 22, 2011Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Shifting winds have set up wind slabs on a variety of aspects, especially on north through southeast aspects. Watch out for cross-loading on open slopes oriented parallel to the wind direction too.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Thin slabs are beginning to become reactive on the mid-December surface hoar layer. In places, these relatively low mass events have been running fast and far.

Weather Forecast

Thursday: Expect dry conditions with mostly clear skies. Winds should be westerly and reach 40-60 km/h at ridgecrests. Freezing levels may reach 1300m. Friday: Dry conditions persist with continued westerly winds and freezing levels reaching 1500m. Saturday: Winds turn southwest and increase to 60-80km/h at ridgecrest with freezing levels climbing as high as 1800m.

Avalanche Summary

We have isolated reports of shallow slab avalanches affecting the top 20 cm of the snowpack, running on the mid-December surface hoar layer in the northern part of the region.

Snowpack Summary

Westerly winds continue, creating windslabs on lee locations in the alpine and open treeline. A buried layer of surface hoar lies approximately 20 cm below the snow surface. Reports indicate this layer was blown around before it was buried and can only be found in isolated, sheltered locations. A well settled mid pack bridges over the basal weaknesses at the ground. This layer was responsible for some large releases earlier on in the season. However, there hasn't been any activity on this layer since early December and confidence is growing that it is gaining strength.

Confidence

Fair - Due to variable snopack conditions

Regions covered