Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Dec 18th, 2020 3:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
matt,
Avalanche Canada
Despite the winds, there are still areas at tree line offering good skiing. With that in mind, limit exposure to large overhead slopes tomorrow. At first glance It looks like we are low on snow, but remember that the depressions on big slopes can hold a surprising amount of snow.
Summary
Confidence
High -
Weather Forecast
Tomorrow will be very similar to today: cloudy with flurries, 50km/hr west wind & a pleasant -6C. We are supposed to get a few flurries, but the main storm will arrive(hopefully) during the day on Sunday and into Monday.Â
Avalanche Summary
A few minor slabs were noted in the northern part of the region. We do expect there were a few natural avalanches today given the high winds, however none were seen.
Snowpack Summary
We managed to get a few more centimeters added to the snowpack yesterday and today. This actually helped the travel and ski quality down low today. Any open area at treeline and above has seen significant wind transport. There was a noticeable windslab that formed during the day today. This will essentially sit on the Dec 9th crust/facet layer left over from the warm spell. So far this layer is not reacting, but being a crust, we can expect faceting above it. In which case it could quickly become more reactive. The Dec 9th is down about 20-40 depending on loading patterns. The Nov5th crust is down about 80cm at treeline and again, it seems to be cooperating with the rest of the snow pack.
Terrain and Travel
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- If you are increasing your exposure to avalanche terrain, do it gradually as you gather information.
Problems
Wind Slabs
There are new windslabs on all Easterly aspects today. Surface slabs are the main concern, but there could be a few buried windslabs in alpine areas.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
So far the new load isn't waking this layer up, but given our uncertainty we are still calling the trigger-ability "reactive" versus stubborn Rocky areas are the most likely places to find it as a problem.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Dec 19th, 2020 3:00PM
