Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 13th, 2024–Jan 14th, 2024

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, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Looking forward, "warmer" temps are on the horizon. Later starts and early finishes on sunny aspects will give you the best chance of success for a small stroll to stretch the legs on Sunday. Be thinking about the "what ifs" you go out and break a binding, a tweaked knee or any injury. Minor situations can become major emergencies in this weather.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No field teams or road partols today

Snowpack Summary

Last weeks snow is slowly settling under the influence of the cold temperatures. Winds have been light to moderate and variable in direction so watch for windslabs in alpine areas on all aspects along ridgelines and in open terrain. These same windslabs will also be present at treeline but not as common as in the open alpine areas. A spotty surface hoar layer is down 30-50cm at treeline that is also worth investigating. Deeper in the snowpack is the Dec 5th melt freeze crust that will be inportant as a layer to watch and the weak basal facets under this layer. Thin snowpack areas are places where triggering this layer is possible.

Weather Summary

The Arctic weather continues. -45 on the spray Saturday morning. Sunday is showing slightly warmer temps in the day time high range of -23. Slight warm ups are happening over the coming days.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.