Avalanche Forecast
South Rockies
Frigid temperatures have preserved the low density snow, but be cautious in areas where the snow has settled into a slab.
Avalanche Problem 1: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Watch for signs of instability such as whumpfing, or cracking.
- Use caution on open slopes and convex rolls at treeline where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
- Choose well supported terrain without convexities.
Avalanche Problem 2: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Expect slabs at higher elevations where winds have formed hard deposits of snow on the downwind sides of ridges and gullies.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Give the recent storm snow plenty of time to bond to underlying layers.
- Use ridges or ribs to avoid pockets of wind loaded snow.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, a skier east of the divide triggered a size 2 slab from low on a slope that propagated up and across the slope. The avalanche occurred on a northeast aspect at 1800 m and failed on 50 cm deep crust. This is the only recent report of a human triggered avalanche in the region, but highlights the ability for persistent slab avalanches to have wide propagations. The current forecasters' blog has additional advice on managing the current persistent slab problem (click here).
Snowpack Summary
Cold temperatures are preserving fresh snow from the past week, with up to 80 cm in southern and eastern parts of the region and 50 cm in the Elk Valley. The snow has been deposited into harder wind slabs in exposed terrain, but remains low density in sheltered areas. The main question in the snowpack surrounds the layer sitting beneath the new snow. The layer includes old crusts, wind scoured surfaces, and large feathery surface hoar crystals in sheltered terrain at and below treeline. The distribution of the layer, as well as the properties of the snow above it, is variable. The most suspect areas are where the wind has blown extra snow above this layer and on slopes with preserved surface hoar.
Two crusts that were buried near the end of November can be found lower in the snowpack. A third crust from the end of October exists near the base of the snowpack. Recent testing on these crusts has not produced significant results.
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, moderate west winds, treeline temperatures around -22 C.
WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, strong west winds, treeline temperatures around -20 C.
THURSDAY: Cloudy with flurries starting in the afternoon, strong west winds, treeline temperatures around -17 C.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- South Rockies URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/south-rockies.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
A layer buried 40-80 cm below the surface has the potential to produce surprising avalanches. Triggering this layer is most likely in on steep sheltered slopes at treeline and below.