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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 8th, 2023–Dec 9th, 2023

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

North Rockies, McBride, Sugarbowl, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Robson, Tumbler.

Early season conditions persist with a shallow snowpack.

Be cautious around ridgelines, wind slabs may still react to human triggers.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches have been reported in the last 2 days. Reactivity is expected to linger in wind affected features.

Please continue to submit MIN reports and support your backcountry community.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds will continue to redistribute what snow is available into deposits on north and east facing slopes. Wind loading may be found near ridgelines or at mid slope rollovers.

A layer of surface hoar can be found around 30-50 cm deep. This is most concerning in wind loaded features.

A crust with sugary facets beneath it can be found just above the ground. The snowpack is still shallow for this time of year. Average snowpack depths at treeline range from 65 to 90 cm.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy, trace amounts of snowfall possible. Westerly winds increase to 50 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -7 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. Southwest winds, 70 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -6 °C.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 5-10 cm of snow. Strong westerly winds ease over the day, to 40 km/h. Freezing levels rise to 1200 m by afternoon. Treeline temperatures around -2 °C.

Monday

Sunny breaks in the afternoon. No snow is expected. Freezing levels return to valley bottom, with treeline temperatures around -7 °C. Westerly winds increase again, above 50 km/h.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.