Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, Kananaskis, North 40, Spray - KLakes.
Flurries will continue to add a hint of fresh snow over the next couple of days. Not really enough to fix our ski quality problem, but also not enough to increase avalanche hazard.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new was noted today.
Snowpack Summary
Surface windslabs continue to be the most concerning issue in our snowpack. They are essentially widespread, but vary in thickness and density. Areas of hard slab are the most concerning as they are the most likely to propagate. There was some light snow today giving about 4cm, however that isn't enough to tilt the scales of ski quality or avalanche danger. In sheltered areas, or areas that haven't seen travel the snowpack is still very weak. While walking or skiing it isn't uncommon to punch to ground.
Weather Summary
Overnight low of -15, daytime high of -9. Flurries will carry on through the night with very light accumulation. Winds will continue to be light to calm.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Carefully evaluate big and steep terrain features before committing to them.
- Avoid steep terrain, including convex rolls, or areas with a thin, rocky, or variable snowpack.
- Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Avoid hollow feeling windslabs in alpine terrain, especially near thin or convex terrain. The windslabs are also found at treeline but in more isolated pieces of terrain such as small gullies.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2