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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2022–Mar 21st, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Good skiing can be found at higher elevations where the temperatures and sun have not damaged it. There will be a definite change in snow quality as you ski in to lower elevations.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Monday will bring cloudy sky's and trace amounts of snow. Day time highs around -6. Winds should be light out of the SW. Freezing levels are slowly rising though the beginning of the week to 2200m. Keep tabs on how the snow changes underfoot while traveling through he terrain.

Avalanche Summary

1 size 2 wind slab avalanche on a N-NE aspects in the alpine was observed today. The crown looked to be from 24-48 hours ago. No other observations

Snowpack Summary

Saturday night brought 15cm snow to the spray. The temps stayed cool (-3) up high at Burstall pass (2300m) where the snow remained dry. Down in the valley we got above Zero degree's which will have made the surface snow moist and now created a Temperature crust up to 2000m as the night cools. This is the normal fluctuation for the duration of the season. Continue to monitor the bond to the Feb 19th layer down 40-70cm. 

Solar aspects will have a variety of sun crusts of varying thickness depending on the days solar input.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.