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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 10th, 2022–Dec 11th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Blue River, Clemina, Esplanade, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, Whatshan.

Recent storm snow will remain reactive to human triggers, take care when moving into wind affected terrain.

Continue to make conservative terrain choices as uncertainty exists around buried weak layers particularly at treeline elevations.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Two persistent slab avalanches were reported to size 2 (remotely triggered), failing on the persistent weak layers buried mid November occurred on Friday, as new snow added load to the snowpack. Activity occurred from 1800-2300 mostly in sparsely treed terrain.

On Thursday several size 1 wind slab avalanches were triggered by skiers in treeline terrain. Several of these avalanches were remotely triggered, failing on buried surface hoar. Whumpfing and cracking were observed throughout the region.

Snowpack Summary

About 30 cm of new snow has been redistributed by moderate southwest winds at higher elevations. On south facing slopes this new snow has fallen on a sun crust and in sheltered terrain it sits over a layer of surface hoar.

Buried 60 to 90cm deep, a persistent layer of surface hoar, crust, and faceted crystals is the primary concern within the snowpack. This layer has been most reactive at treeline between 1700-2200 m, but it was also observed as low as 1450 m and on all aspects.

Snowpack depths are highly variable and range from 90cm at treeline to 200cm in the alpine in wind affected locations.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 8cm of new snow possible. Easing southerly winds. Freezing level below valley bottom.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy. Flurries in the morning bringing trace amounts of new snow and then clearing in the afternoon. Alpine high of -6. Light easterly winds.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with the possibility of light flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow. Alpine high of -9. Light easterly winds.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. No snow expected. Alpine high of -9. Light easterly winds.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • 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.