Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 26 – 27, 2017Alberta Parks
View on map
Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

Highlights

Cold for the next few days.  Slower skiing due to the cold temperatures. 

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Wind slabs are present in the Alpine on all aspects, and in isolated spots at Treeline. Steep and unsupported terrain are areas where triggering is more likely.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–3
    Triggering of a deeper slab is unlikely, but still possible in shallow snowpack areas.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Cold weather until at least Friday with overnight lows in the minus mid-twenties and daytime highs around -20c.  Isolated flurries for Wednesday with west wind at 20-40km/hr.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported.

Snowpack Summary

Not much changing in the snowpack at the moment, except more profound faceting due to the persistent cold temperatures. Wind slabs are found in the Alpine on all aspects and in open areas at Treeline immediately below ridge-crests in lee and cross-loaded terrain. The Dec 15th surface hoar layer is found down 20 to 30cm at elevations below 2200m, but the lack of an overlying slab means that this layer of concern is not yet active. The November crusts are beginning to facet and as they continue to become weaker, this layer will become problematic.

Regions covered