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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 30th, 2013–Dec 31st, 2013

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

Regions

South Rockies.

Confidence

Poor - Due to the quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Synopsis:  The Southeast corner of the province remains largely high & dry for the forecast period.  There is potential for a bit of precip as a weakening system exits the province Thursday night.Tuesday: Freezing Level: Valley Bottom; Precip: Trace; Wind: Mod W/NW.  Strong at ridgetop.Wednesday: Freezing Level: Valley Bottom; Precip: Trace; Wind: Light SWThursday: Freezing Level: Rising, perhaps as high as 2000m; Precip: Nil Wind: Strong SWThursday Night:  Freezing Level slowly lowers overnight Precip: 3/7mm

Avalanche Summary

No significant avalanche observations have been reported.

Snowpack Summary

There appears to be a lot of snowpack variability across the region. Snowpack depths at treeline vary from 60 - 130 cm with high variability in wind-exposed areas. Winds were strong out of the SW on Sunday at all stations & our field team reports that alpine terrain has been heavily wind effected.  In the mid pack is the late-November/early-December interface which is made up of surface hoar, a crust, and/or facets. This layer is typically down 30-70cm and has reached the tipping point for rider triggering in a few areas including the Harvey Pass area. Check out this video of a recent snowpack test on this layer.

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.