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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2019–Dec 14th, 2019

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

Little Yoho.

Basal facets, crusts and depth hoar exist in most of the region. If you head into committing terrain, it could be a bit of a gamble whether you will trigger a slope as these layers are hard to predict. A classic rockies snowpack!

Weather Forecast

Lows of -10 in the valley bottoms Saturday AM and -15C in the alpine with light NW winds and no significant snow. This cool and stagnant weather pattern should persist for most of the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

There has been variable wind slab development mainly in the alpine over the last two days. Beneath the recent 40-60 cm of storm snow, the snowpack structure is generally weak with facets and depth hoar where under 1 meter. The exception so far has been the Takakkaw falls area which has a much deeper and stronger snowpack at treeline and below.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported Friday.  Earlier in the week some avalanches to size 3 were observed from both explosive control and natural activity.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.

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.