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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 15th, 2022–Dec 16th, 2022

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

Regions

White Pass East, White Pass West.

Wind slabs will remain reactive in isolated higher elevation wind-affected features, like ridgelines and gully features.

Extreme cold conditions will sweep across the region starting Friday.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No reports of recent avalanche activity. Although it is likely natural wind slab activity continues at higher elevations until the snow and winds taper by Friday morning.

Snowpack Summary

Recent strong to extreme southwest winds have redistributed the new snow. Scouring ridges and highpoints at upper elevations, while creating deep, loaded pockets on northerly terrain, up to 150 cm.

A crust exists down about 20cm at treeline. The mid and lower snowpack is generally facetted and well-settled.

Treeline snow depth range from 60 to 90 cm.

Weather Summary

Thursday night

Cloudy with snow. Around 5 cm. Moderate southwest winds and temperatures cooling 0 to -15 C in the alpine.

Friday

Some flurries in the morning as cold air sweeps across the region. Alpine winds will shift to northwest in the moderate to strong range. Temperatures drop to -20 C with a significant wind chill.

Saturday and Sunday

Mainly clear skies. Alpine temperatures in the -25 to -30 C range, with moderate northeast winds. Wind chill values near -45 C over the weekend.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

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.