Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 21 – 22, 2014Alberta Parks

View on map

Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue

Wed

Alpine

2 · Moderate

Treeline

2 · Moderate

Below

1 · Low

Open full map

Highlights

Recently formed thin wind slabs have become reactive at higher elevations. Otherwise the main concern remains the basal weaknesses.

Avalanche problems

Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Possible - Likely
Size
1–2
Thin wind slabs are found in the Alpine and open areas at Treeline. Continued wind slab formation is expected with strong SW winds and light snowfall.
Deep Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alpine
Treeline
Below treeline
Likelihood
Unlikely - Possible
Size
2–4

Weather Forecast

Monday should bring a mostly cloudy day with moderate to strong West winds. Very light precipitation is possible and temperatures should reach -9 degrees. Windy conditions will continue through Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday could see small accumulations of new snow.

Avalanche Summary

One thin wind slab failure was observed today. This size 1.5 avalanche occurred in the past 24 to 48hrs on a SE aspect at 2400m. It was a thin wind slab that appeared to fail on the ground.

Confidence

Fair

Snowpack Summary

5 to 10cm of new snow has fallen in the past 36hrs. Strong to extreme SW winds are redistributing this snow and thin wind slab formation is ongoing in the Alpine and open areas at Treeline. The Dec 13th rain crust remains dominant in the snowpack below 2200m. The November rain crust and facet combo remains a concern deeper in the snowpack.

Regions covered

Kananaskis