Avalanche forecast

South Rockies

Dec 30 – 31, 2013Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    With very little snow available for transport fresh wind slabs likely won't be much of an issue.  Wind slab formed over the last few days may still be sensitive to rider triggering, especially on slopes immediately lee of ridgecrest.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–5
    This is a complex problem because it's different from one drainage to the next.  You need to dig down and figure out if you have a slab on top of the buried surface hoar.  If you find a slab in your riding area a conservative approach is appropriate.

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.

Regions covered