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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 6th, 2023–Dec 7th, 2023

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

North Rockies, Sugarbowl, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Tumbler.

Watch for wind slabs around ridgelines and mid slope rollovers.

Early season conditions lurking in the shallow snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

There have been no reports of avalanches over the last few days.

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

Snowpack Summary

Winds are expected to have created redistributed recent storm totals into deeper slabs on north and east facing terrain features at higher elevations. The upper snowpack is generally faceted. At treeline, expect to find a surface hoar layer buried around 50 cm deep.

The mid-pack is generally unconsolidated. 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 55 to 80 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy with southwest winds, 20-35 km/h. No snowfall expected.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud, westerly winds 20-35 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -7 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy, 2 cm of snowfall possible. Westerly winds increase to 50 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -7 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with light snowfall. Southwest winds, 70 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • 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.