Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 13th, 2024–Dec 14th, 2024

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.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

With a snowpack like this, there's no excuse to not have your holiday shopping wrapped up by Sunday. There may be good skiing out there in very sheltered areas, but expect a thin and largely unsupportive snowpack.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed.

Snowpack Summary

Lots of wind slabs out there in the alpine and treeline. Most are limited to crossloaded gullies and immediate lee areas, however there are some areas at treeline that have seen more widespread wind loading (Tent Ridge for example). You can also expect to find laminated, multi layer wind slabs. A real potpourri of wind slab out there. The Dec crust is out there, but hasn't had enough load to be an issue yet. And lastly, who can forget the Oct crust? Yes, this is still there and perhaps our biggest concern. It is still a layer to be concerned with, especially in thin snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Wish there was better news...

No significant snow for tomorrow. In fact there's no snow forecast for the next few days. Crickets out there. Temperatures are mild with overnight lows around -10, and high of -6 for tomorrow. Winds will gently blow out of the south west.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Avoid steep terrain that is rocky and thin.

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.