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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 1st, 2023–Dec 2nd, 2023

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

Regions

Brazeau, Cirrus-Wilson, Icefields.

Areas where the wind has deposited enough snow over a weak base is the most likely scenario for skier or climber triggered avalanches at this time. There is still very limited information available to forecasters, so if you're out there, do some investigating before committing to steeper terrain.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported.

Snowpack Summary

Surface hoar up to 10mm continues to grow in cold overnight temperatures. Exposed areas are heavily wind effected at treeline and above. The snowpack is generally between 25-45cm of snow sitting over a faceted base.

Weather Summary

A shift to a more active weather system will bring scattered flurries throughout the region Saturday, with trace amounts of snow, and moderate to strong west and southwest winds at ridgetop. A frontal system will arrive Sunday afternoon, but weather models show a lot of variability in snow amounts.

The Mountain Weather Forecast is available from Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • 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

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.