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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 8th, 2022–Jan 9th, 2022

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Strong to extreme winds overnight Saturday will likely lead to a natural avalanche cycle on Sunday. Avoid avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Sunday will be mainly cloudy with strong westerly winds. A few light flurries may also fall, and there will a return to more seasonable temperatures with a high near -10C.

Avalanche Summary

A natural slab avalanche cycle up to size 3 occurred on the east side of the region today with notable avalanches observed on Mt Kidd and in the Fortress area. On the west side of the region (Spray Valley / Smith-Dorrien) there were no new avalanches observed today, but this area has notably escaped the wind so far.

Snowpack Summary

A Tale of Two Valleys: In the Spray Valley as much as 80cm of recent storm snow is settling out (now averaging 60 to 70cm at treeline). There has been very little wind effect in this area.....so far. Forecasted strong westerly winds will likely change that very quickly, but as of Saturday afternoon there were no new avalanches observed. In the Kananaskis Valley (HWY 40), there has been significantly less snow and much more wind, which has caused a natural slab avalanche cycle up to size 3.

Forecasters continue to monitor the Dec crust layer down 120 to 150cm in the snowpack. This curst has faceting on both sides, and while reactive to stability tests, it has not been especially active in recent days. This may change as the wind loading is expected to start to overload this layer.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid freshly wind loaded terrain features.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a persistent slab.

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.