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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 12th, 2023–Dec 13th, 2023

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

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

The current snowpack is complex, with multiple buried weak layers of concern, despite its generally shallow nature.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported in the region.

If you do go into the backcountry, consider submitting a Mountain Information Network report.

Snowpack Summary

Widespread wind affected surfaces at higher elevations with roughly 30 cm of recent snow being redistributed by strong alpine winds. This new snow overlies a weak, feathery layer of surface hoar at 1200 m and above. Below this elevation, it overlies a crust.

Another surface hoar layer is down 40 to 60 cm. This layer may exist at all aspects and elevations.

In general, the snowpack is still shallow for this time of year with snowpack depths at treeline ranging from 50 to 100 cm. Early season hazards are still a concern.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow, south alpine winds 60 to 80 km/h, treeline temperature -4 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 60 to 80 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with no precipitation, southwest alpine winds 40 to 70 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

Problems

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.

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.