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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 21st, 2022–Dec 22nd, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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

Purcells, Dogtooth, East Purcell.

Very cold temperatures are likely the biggest hazard in the region right now. Make conservative plans, even a small accident can have big consequences.

Check out this blog from our Yukon field team about managing the cold while traveling in avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday explosive control in the region produced only very small avalanches with a depth of 10cm.

If you are headed into the backcountry please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network report.

Snowpack Summary

The upper snowpack is becoming increasingly unconsolidated and faceted. Some wind effect can be found in the alpine.

The main layer of concern is the mid-November layer, which is made up of either surface hoar, facets, or crusts. It is now buried 40 to 80 cm deep. Avalanche activity on this layer has tapered off but it could still be possible to trigger this layer in isolated terrain features near treeline.

Alpine snowpack distribution is variable, with depths ranging from 70 to 140 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

No new snow expected. Light northeast winds and a low of -36 at 2000m.

Thursday

Mostly sunny with no new snow expected. Light westerly winds and a high of -31 at 2000m.

Friday

Cloudy with trace amounts of new snow expected. Southwest winds increasing throughout the day to strong in the evening. High of -25 at 2000m.

Saturday

Cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5cm of new snow. Strong southwest winds and a high of -20 at 2000m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.