Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 11th, 2016 3:00PM

The alpine rating is low, the treeline rating is low, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs.

matt.mueller, Alberta Parks

Kananaskis.

Our once solid snowpack has lost the bulk of its original strength. If an avalanche does start, expect it to run far and fast as it entrains the loose snow.

Summary

Confidence

Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain on Tuesday

Weather Forecast

Mainly cloudy tomorrow with isolated flurries. No accumulation is expected from these flurries. It seems the inversion we've been experiencing lately has moved on. Tomorrow's alpine high is -8. The alpine winds will pick up slightly and hover around 40km/hr at ridge top.

Avalanche Summary

No field trip today, but suspect no natural avalanches.

Snowpack Summary

Another day of clear skies with a big variation in temperatures. The cold temperatures are weakening the snow pack more every day. The below treeline snowpack is still supportive, but we are seeing depth hoar near the ground. Shallow areas are particularly weak and bottomless. Treeline has kept a lot of its support while walking on skis, but shallow areas are weak and behave more like the traditional Rockies snowpack. The windslabs have begun to lose strength and in many places have facetted out. The alpine is generally wind affected with windslabs in immediate lee areas. The deeper layers have facetted and are getting weaker.

Problems

Wind Slabs

The cold, calm weather has helped to improve this problem through the facetting process. Thin areas with either a solar aspect, or a depth hoar base remain concerning. Expect slabs to entrain loose snow if they do slide.

Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain near ridge crests.>Avoid convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.>

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West.

Elevations: Alpine.

Likelihood

Unlikely - Possible

Expected Size

1 - 3

Valid until: Jan 12th, 2016 2:00PM