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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 1st, 2019–Dec 2nd, 2019

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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

Purcells.

Keep an eye out for lingering wind slabs and variable ski quality.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to extremely variable snowpack conditions reported through the region.

Weather Forecast

Sunday night: Cloudy with isolated flurries, alpine temperature -10 C, moderate west wind.

Monday: Cloudy and scattered flurries, up to 4 cm accumulation, alpine temperature -8 C, moderate west wind.

Tuesday: Flurries, 5-10 cm accumulation, alpine temperature -8 C, moderate-strong west wind.

Wednesday: Flurries, 5-15 cm accumulation, alpine temperature -7 C, moderate southwest wind.

Avalanche Summary

Avalanches are decreasing in likelihood, but it still may be possible to trigger wind slabs in isolated pockets in the alpine. This is a great MIN report from the nearby South Columbia region on Wednesday that helps to paint the picture of these wind slab avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

Recent wind affect on surface snow can be found at all elevations, and old, hard windslabs are found in the alpine and around ridgline. These slabs could be more reactive where they overly a weak layer of surface hoar (feathery crystals) that formed on a crust. The last week of cold temperatures has been slowly decreasing the strength of the upper snowpack.

Snowpack depth is highly variable, ranging from 10 cm to 100 cm. Expect to find weak facets (sugary, cohesion-less snow) in the thin areas. A variety of crusts from late October are buried deeper in the snowpack (down 30 to 70 cm). Generally, the inactive weather pattern over the past week has improved snowpack stability in the short term.

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.