Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 11 – 12, 2013Alberta Parks
View on map
Archived · expired 14 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
Open full map

Highlights

Warm, moist air pushing in to the region from the SW will bring with it an increase in Avalanche Danger by midweek.  The new snow will be sitting on top a a variety of old surface layers ranging form sun crusts to soft and hard windslabs.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Winds Sunday resulted in rapid loading with redistribution of the storm snow. Soft slabs at TL & ALP were approaching the reactive level in specific areas. The bond with the existing slab interfaces needs to be carefully assessed.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–4
    This layer (Feb HSL) has been a suspected failure plain in a number of avalanches lately. A fresh sz2 on Little Tent Ridge was observed at TL elev in skiable terrain.

Confidence

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Tuesday

Weather Forecast

A SW flow beginning early Tuesday is forecast to bring with it strong to extreme winds, up to 30mm of precipitation by Thursday AM and rising temperatures - a classic setup for increasing Avalanche Danger.

Avalanche Summary

A few loose dry from steep lee terrain.

Snowpack Summary

In open alpine terrain expect to encounter soft slabs, hard slabs and sastrugi due to widespread wind effects. Sheltered areas that have been shaded offer loose dry snow while solar aspects sport a mix of variable crusts.

Regions covered