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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 14th, 2014–Jan 15th, 2014

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

The strong westerly flow remains in place for at least another day.  Ridgetop winds were consistently strong to extreme Tuesday and there is till some redistribution of storm snow occurring - windslabs continue to build and become more cohesive.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Mix of sun/cloud with no new precipitation.  Westerly flow remaining strong to extreme with gusts to 85km/h predicted.

Avalanche Summary

One Size 1 loose dry reported in the Buller chutes.  One Size 3 SSL off of east side of Snow Peak probably occurred in previous 24 hours - ran to middle of runout zone taking out "usual" uptrack.  Numerous Size 2 SSL on NE asp Mt Sir Douglas and at Burstall Pass.  FL generally 1m deep with bed surface a combination of ground and old snow layers.

Snowpack Summary

Wind transport along ridgetops has been reduced due to the fact that most loose snow that was available for wind transport has been moved around - but some redistribution is till occurring.  A perfect combo of new snow, wind and mild temps has created new windslabs with variable thickness depending upon location and amount of snow in fetch zones.  In the Burstall area they varied from  20-50cm thick. 

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.