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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 21st, 2023–Dec 22nd, 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, 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

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Wind slabs may have formed at higher elevations, approach ridgelines and mid slopes rollovers with caution.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

There is no new avalanche activity to report.

If you do go into the backcountry, consider submitting a Mountain Information Network report.

Snowpack Summary

10-25 cm of new snow has fallen over previously wind-affected surfaces at higher elevations.

Two different surface hoar layers have been reported in the upper snowpack and appear to be most prominent at treeline and below. Snowpack depth at treeline is 50 to 100 cm.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 5-10 cm of snow, southerly winds 70-100 km/h. Freezing levels remain above 1000 m until morning.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 2-5 cm of snow, southwest winds 30-50 km/h, treeline high temperature -1 °C, freezing levels fall from 700 m to valley bottom by afternoon.

Saturday

Increasing cloud with a chance of flurries, and southerly winds 50-60 km/h. Treeline temperatures -4 °C, freezing level at valley bottom.

Sunday

Cloudy with light snowfall. Freezing levels rise to 1500 m, treeline temperatures around -1 °C. Strong southerly winds, 60-100 km/h.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to the wind, once it starts to blow fresh sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.

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.