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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 20th, 2023–Dec 21st, 2023

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

Regions

Cariboos, North Columbia, Blue River, Clearwater, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Clemina, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Renshaw, Robson, Central Selkirk.

Be on the lookout for wind slab development with light snow and increasing winds. Keep in mind a problematic layer of surface hoar lingers deeper in the snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Sporadic reports continue to provide evidence that buried surface hoar layers remain human-triggerable in neighboring regions. Avalanches up to size 2.5 have mostly occurred in treeline and alpine terrain, but have been reported as low as 1950 m.

This Mountain Information Network (MIN) post from neighboring Glacier National Park is a recent example.

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 30 cm of recent snow has buried a layer of surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain. A crust from the early December rain event is buried by roughly 50 cm of snow.

A problematic surface hoar layer is now roughly 50-90 cm below the surface.

The lower snowpack is generally facetted with a hard crust found just above the ground. The snowpack remains unseasonably shallow, with average treeline snow depths around 80 to 120 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 8 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 40 to 60 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny with no precipitation, northwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.

Problems

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.

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.