Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 3rd, 2021–Dec 4th, 2021

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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

Kananaskis.

Bombing results today gave the impression that the snowpack is improving. Having said that, we're still reluctant to lower the alpine hazard, or expose ourselves to big terrain. Our hands on snowpack observations are still limited. 

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

A more seasonal weather pattern is finally here. The overnight low will be about -15, with a daytime high of only -12. We will also get some light flurries and cloudy skies for most of the day. Winds will continue to be light from the west. All in all, not a bad day tomorrow.

Avalanche Summary

Today saw us out doing an avalanche control run on EEOR and Mt Buller. If anyone local is interested, a quick glance out the window will tell the tale. There's currently 5 large bomb holes that only triggered surface slabs up to sz2. A couple shots on EEOR were no results. We were quite surprised at the lack of large slab avalanches. Mt Buller had similar results, with the only exciting result coming from a smooth rock slab (sz 2.5, alpine start zone).

For natural activity we did notice a sz1.5 slab avalanche on a steep south aspect alpine slope. 

Snowpack Summary

Two separate control runs today gave us a pretty good picture of our current snowpack. Overall we were pleasantly surprised with the lack of avalanches. It appears that the lower (up to 2100m) snowpack was rain soaked during the storm, which now means it is frozen and essentially locked in place. Above 2100m its also an encouraging snowpack with a well settled mid pack and 5-10 cm of new snow on top. There are surface wind slabs out there that are probably still triggerable, but they tend to be isolated to immediate lee areas. The coverage is quite good for this time of year.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid lee and cross loaded slopes in the alpine.
  • Avoid slopes that sound hollow or drum-like.

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.

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.