Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Dec 14 – 15, 2014Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Danger ratings trending down due to low freezing levels after the recent rain.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Pockets of wind slab may continue to be sensitive to human triggers in the alpine at elevations that were above the rain line during the recent storm.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–4
    The deeply buried November rain crust may be sensitive to large loads in the high alpine in areas above the rain line during the recent storm and  where there was enough snow to develop a crust in early November.

Confidence

Fair - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

Clearing overnight with light Southeast winds and alpine temperatures around -6. Freezing levels should remain at valley bottoms for the forecast period. Sunny with light Southwest winds on Monday. Tuesday mostly sunny with some valley cloud. Cloud moving in to the region on Tuesday evening and remaining on Wednesday. No precipitation expected for the forecast period.

Avalanche Summary

No new reports of avalanches from the region.

Snowpack Summary

Overnight freezing has developed a surface crust up to about 2100 metres and the whole snowpack has re-frozen into a solid mass below about 1600 metres. Early Sunday 10-15 cm (@Harmer weather station) of dry light new snow has buried the crust that was left after the recent rain.  There may be a buried persistent weak layer of crust and/or facets that is now down between 70-100 cm. This buried crust from November may continue to be triggered by large additional loads in high alpine areas that did not get rain during the recent storm. Pockets of wind slab may continue to be triggered by skiers and riders at or near ridgetops in areas where the snow was dry enough to be transported by the strong Southwest winds during the storm.

Regions covered