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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 19th, 2022–Jan 20th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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.

A return of stronger winds on Thursday will increase the avalanche danger in the Alpine due to windslabs development. 

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the track & intensity of the incoming weather system.

Weather Forecast

Light snowfall is forecast for the region on Thursday and temperatures are expected to warm up slightly to around -5C for a daytime high. Winds will increase to more moderate out of the SW and move the new and recent snow around somewhat. 

Avalanche Summary

Numerous loose dry avalanches over the past few days up to sz 1 and a few smaller windslabs up to sz 2 on N and E aspects in the alpine. 

Snowpack Summary

Light winds over the past few days has allowed the recent snow to remain in most areas giving a nice beautiful look! What's important though is what is this new snow sitting on! Windslabs are widespread in the alpine and now buried under the recent snow making thin areas harder to distinguish. So, be carfeul not to dry-dock on the rocks while exploring terrain. At treeline, windslabs are more variable and not as obvious. The Dec 2nd persistent layer is down over 1m in the snowpack and not produced much activity of recent. While no longer a problem we are still following this layer and encourage others to do the same. As winds increase on Thursday for the day, watch for windslabs to develop. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a persistent slab.
  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine 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.