Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Kananaskis.
Avalanche hazard is increasing. Good skiing can be found in sheltered and treed areas. Avoid exposure to large avalanche slopes.
Confidence
Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the extreme variability of wind effect on the snowpack.
Weather Forecast
5-10cm has fallen so far with another 5-10cm on Tuesday night. Wednesday is forecast for yet another 5-10cm along with strong westerly winds and temperatures around -7c. Wednesday evening, the winds will diminish as the cold air begins to sink in to -20c by Thursday morning.
Avalanche Summary
The visibility was poor today upon observation but we suspect no new avalanches occurred.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10cm of new snow has fallen making the skiing in sheltered areas quite good. The alpine has several generations of wind slabs. This latest storm snow, along with up to 80km/hr forecast winds will create new wind slabs in the alpine and areas of tree line that will likely be sensitive to skier traffic. The mid pack is strong but sits on a very weak layer near the bottom of the snow pack that is made up of the November crust, facets and depth hoar. We keep getting another wind slab layer, adding to the weight of the snowpack. In the last two weeks, we have had full depth avalanches occur soon after a wind event. Â
Terrain and Travel
- Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.