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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 4th, 2019–Dec 5th, 2019

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Conditions have changed!!!  

Widespread wind slabs at tree line and in the alpine. Evaluate your routes carefully.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

We received up to 5cm of snow along with a bit of wind on Wednesday. Flurries are to continue with up to another 5cm by Thursday morning. Winds are expected to be moderate from the SW overnight and light westerly for Thursday. Temps will start out around -12c and warm up to -7c in the alpine.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed. Very limited observations.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 5cm of snow has fallen on Wednesday. The most interesting part was that the top 30cm of the snowpack felt like a soft slab and was widespread from tree line and above. This might of been caused by the recent winds or the warmer temperatures Tuesday night and Wednesday during the day. Either way, it felt slabby and we pulled back from steeper terrain. There are still a couple of buried wind slabs, the November crust and October facets near the base to think about.

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.