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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 19th, 2023–Dec 20th, 2023

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

Regions

North Rockies, Sugarbowl, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass.

Watch for storm and wind slab development Wednesday, while buried layers of surface hoar lurk deeper within the snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported. There are very few field observations coming from this forecast area. Remember that a lack of avalanche reports does not necessarily mean a lack of avalanche activity.

If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

New snow continues to bury a variety of previously wind-affected surfaces.

A problematic layer of surface hoar is roughly 30 to 60 cm below the surface.

The mid snowpack likely contains multiple frozen crusts, while the lower snowpack is generally faceted. Average snowpack depths at treeline range from 50 to 100 cm.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -3 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 60 to 70 km/h, treeline temperature -1 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 60 to 70 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 50 to 70 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Choose conservative terrain and watch for clues of instability.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

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.

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.