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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 16th, 2021–Dec 19th, 2021

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

Regions

Waterton Lakes.

Cameron Lake area seems to be holding more snow than other areas of the park. Still very difficult travel below 1800m, use extra caution.

Weather Forecast

Friday: 5cm of new snow expected by the morning, mostly clear. L-M ridgetop winds. Alpine high -13. FL valley bottom.

Saturday: Partially cloudy with snow beginning in the evening. Alpine high - 6. S-X ridgetop winds. FL valley bottom

Sunday: 15-20cm of snow by end of day. Alpine high - 8. Ridgetop winds taper to M. FL valley bottom

Snowpack Summary

Up to 35cm of unconsolidated storm snow is being redistributed into surface windslabs. This overlies a 20-40cm buried windslab ALP/TL atop a 10cm  Dec 4 rain crust with facets below. A 20-60 cm thick November melt freeze crust complex completes the snowpack to ground. BTL has just reached threshold in some places. Snow depth at TL is 100 - 170 cm

Avalanche Summary

Several dry loose avalanches observed to size 2 on Wednesday, nothing stepping down to deeper layers. Observations in this area are still limited, if you go out into the mountains please share your observations on the Mountain Information Network.

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.