Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 9th, 2023–Feb 10th, 2023

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Travel on broken trails is good, and its certainly worth getting out for the sake of getting out, but be careful if larger, untouched terrain is your goal.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No evidence of old or new avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

Well, we had to do it. We put our big kid pants on today and went for a long wallow up one of our classic ridges today. The trip took us up to about 2300m and covered east and west aspects. Here's the scoop on the snowpack. Between valley bottom and treeline the off trail travel is tedious. The 8-10cm of new snow isn't enough to bridge the facets and most steps are going to ground. Some lower areas have a crust down about 10cm which barely helps the travel. The support of the snowpack gradually gets better the higher you go. At treeline, instead of plunging to ground with every step, its only every 7th or 8th step that collapses to ground. At treeline, there's an optimistic 80-90cm of snow. The story changes once the open, windy, alpine areas are found. Here, the windslabs are supportive enough to walk on, but it doesn't take long for them to become eerily hollow. On westerly aspects, the alpine snowpack is almost entirely depth hoar. As for ski quality, it is variable and still requires a soft touch.

Weather Summary

It's looking like flurries or even light snow will start tonight and carry on throughout the day tomorrow. Before you run off and dig out your goggles, I'll be honest. We're only expecting 4-8cm. But hey, why not wear the goggles anyway? They help with that wintery feeling. The added windchill of moderate westerly winds at ridge top will also add to the illusion of winter. As for the temps? We are looking at a fairly steady temperature of -8ish for most of the day.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

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.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.