Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Feb 12 – 13, 2017Alberta Parks
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Touchy conditions continue. Very cautious route-selection is advised as human-triggering is a very real possibility. Also, keep an eye out for solar-triggering as the air temps are warm and the solar radiation is significant.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    2–3
    Wind slabs are everywhere, but the most recent loading is onto typical lee and cross-loaded features. The slabs are 50-60cm thick and are sitting on a variety of surfaces. These slabs are very sensitive to human-triggering.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Very Likely
    Size
    2–3
    Cornices are large and relatively new to the scene. Expect them to fail easily, especially as it warms up.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    2–4
    Many avalanches have stepped to this layer. Very large avalanches can be expected if this layer is involved. Large triggers(cornices) may wake this layer up.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure has pushed into the region and will bring generally clear skies. Winds will be moderate to strong from the West. Alpine temperatures will climb to near +1 C, with freezing levels reaching 2000m. Tuesday and Wednesday will be a bit warmer before a slight cooling trend on Thursday.

Avalanche Summary

A group of skiers remotely triggered a size 2.0 avalanche near Black Prince today on an East aspect at 2200m. The slab was approximately 80cm deep and failed in the basal weak layers. There was nobody buried. In addition, a natural avalanche cycle continued today with avalanche activity up to size 3.0 in lee and cross-loaded terrain. A few of these avalanches initiated in the upper snowpack and then steeped down to the Dec 18th persistent weak layer once they reached the Treeline elevation band.

Snowpack Summary

Wind slabs dominate the Alpine and Treeline elevation bands. These slabs are found on all aspects, but the most recent loading pattern is from the SW loading up traditional lee and cross-loaded terrain and starting to strip windward slopes in the Alpine. As can be expected, the wind has helped the cornices grow and in some cases these have fallen off and started avalanches within the recent wind slabs. Below Treeline still has a distinct "upside down" feel to it due to the weak mid-pack. Whumphing is widespread and can propagate a long ways through the weaker layers. Think of this as you approach overhead terrain.

Regions covered