Kananaskis

Winds over the past 24hrs have been intense out of the west making windslabs more reactive in alpine areas and stripping windward slopes to bare rock.

A few new sz 2 windslabs were observed along the smith dorrien on Wednesday. They looked to be on average 20cm thick. They were on all aspects but mainly initiating from thinner snowpack areas.

Watch for windslabs in alpine areas as a result of strong winds over the past few days Where the snowpack is thin these are the places wherein a skier may trigger the weak basal facets. As the snowpack above the weaker base has become more cohesive the potential for wide propagation increases. This will be a common theme this winter and you should always be thinking about consequences of an avalanche. Wind slabs may also cause the weak base to fail. Its a tough snowpack this year and unfortunately, it isn't likely to change much this season.

Ice climbers in the Ghost and front ranges should watch for pockets of windslabs along routes that may be triggered.

A few cms of snow is forecast along the Spray but accumulations are not expected to be significant. Temperatures will cool slightly with -6C at treeline elevations during the day with strong winds continuing out of the SW. There is a chance for some snow next week looking way off into the forecast.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Be aware of the potential for surprisingly large avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.