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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 12th, 2022–Dec 13th, 2022

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

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Early season hazards will be abundant at lower elevations, where the snowpack is barely overcoming ground roughness. If you do venture into higher elevations, watch for pockets of wind slab around ribs and ridges. If triggered, wind slabs have the potential to 'step down' to the weak lower snowpack, creating larger than expected avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche reports. Keep sharing your observations via the MIN; it helps strengthen our information gathering.

Snowpack Summary

In deeper zones at 1900 m the snowpack is around 100-130 cm, which is low for the middle of December, and it has a weak structure.

Surface: Boot top powder in deep areas. Same old crusts, facets, and rocks on wind-scoured slopes. Wind slab pockets lee of ridges.Upper-pack: Below the fresh snow is well-developed surface hoar in sheltered areas. The upper part of the snowpack is generally low density and faceting (aka weak).Mid-pack: maybe a crust or two, with a layer of soft facets above. This is likely the primary weak layer.Lower-pack: facets and depth hoar (aka not strong).

Weather Summary

Monday night

Cloudy with clear periods. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -4 °C. Ridge wind northwest 10-20 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Tuesday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -1 °C. Ridge wind north 5-15 km/h. Freezing level rises to 1700 metres.

Wednesday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -2 °C. Ridge wind north 25 km/h gusting to 55 km/h. Freezing level rising to 1500 metres.

Thursday

Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -3 °C. Ridge wind north 30 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Expect shallow snow cover that barely covers ground roughness.

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.