Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 23 – 24, 2015Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

The snowpack is in transition to full spring conditions, but is not entirely there yet. Keep an eye on intense solar radiation and daytime heating and their destabilizing effects on the snowpack.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–4
    Lee and cross-loaded features are present in the alpine and in isolated features at treeline.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Loose wet avalanches are possible at lower elevations and on solar aspects especially when the sun shining and the daytime temperatures are warm.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–5
    The basal weak layers remain a concern for triggering steep and shallow snowpack features.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. Temperatures will remain mild with freezing levels near 2000m. Winds will be out of the NW at 30km/h.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed today.

Snowpack Summary

6 to 10cm new snow in the past 24hrs at treeline. This overlies a dense supportive layer (rain crust at lower elevations) at treeline and below. Minor sluffing in steep terrain with skier traffic. Solar radiation is intense even when only in isolated bursts, which is producing moist snow on solar aspects at all elevations. Wind slabs are still present in the alpine and these reach into isolated areas at treeline. The basal weak layers remain a concern in steep and shallow snowpack areas.

Regions covered