Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible - Likely
- Size
- 1–2
Recent southwest winds switching to northwest have created windslabs on a variety of aspects.
Avalanche forecast
View on mapPurcells
Dec 8 – 9, 2019Avalanche Canada
Archived · expired 7 years ago
Avalanche danger
Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Highlights
Expect to see cooler drier conditions prevail into the early part of the week.
Avalanche problems
Persistent Slabs
NNEESESSWWNW- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 1.5–2.5
Recent cold temperatures have reduced strength and faceted the snowpack.
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to extremely variable snowpack conditions reported through the region.
Weather Forecast
Saturday Night: Scattered flurries, alpine temperature -10, light to moderate northwest wind.
Sunday: Mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperature -9, light to moderate northwest wind.
Monday: Cloudy with sunny breaks. Alpine temperature -8, light northwest wind.
Tuesday: Cloudy with sunny breaks. Alpine temperature -8, light northwest wind.
Avalanche Summary
Reports from Thursday and Friday indicate explosives triggered size 1-2 wind slab avalanches, mostly on northerly alpine features.
Snowpack Summary
15-35 cm of new snow accumulated in the north of the region through the past week with lesser amounts around Panorama and south. The new snow has covered surface hoar in sheltered areas and various wind-affected surfaces elsewhere.
The old wind-affected snow sits over a crust on solar aspects in the alpine or a surface hoar/crust combination around treeline. The surface hoar is down 25-45 cm and seems to be isolated to the north of the region or areas with a relatively deeper snowpack.
There are a variety of crusts buried in the mid to lower snowpack. These crusts have begun to break down. The base of the snowpack generally consists of facets and depth hoar.