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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 9th, 2023–Dec 10th, 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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Lizard-Flathead, South Rockies, Akamina, Flathead, Lizard, Bull, Crowsnest North, Crowsnest South, Elkford East, Elkford West.

Watch for freshly formed wind slabs in lee terrain features at upper elevations.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A widespread natural avalanche cycle was observed during the storm towards the end of the week, producing loose wet and storm slab avalanches. On Friday, explosive control work near Fernie produced storm slab avalanches, size 1.5-2.

Snowpack Summary

30-50 cm of recent snow seems to be bonding well to a hard melt-freeze crust. When the wind picks up, this snow is available for transport and may be redistributed into wind slabs.

Beneath the upper crust, the remainder of the rain-moistened snowpack is slowly refreezing into a solid block.

Snowpack depths are approximately 60 to 120 cm at treeline, tapering rapidly with elevation.

Weather Summary

Saturday night

Cloudy with 2-5 cm of new snow. Moderate southwest wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. Moderate southwest wind, treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Monday

Up to 5 cm of snow then clearing. Light northeast wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level dropping to valley bottom.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud. Light southwest wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

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.