Avalanche forecast

North 40

Jan 20 – 24, 2023Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

Watch for pockets of wind affected snow that if triggerred will likely fail to ground. This area has lower snow coverage as compared to the Spray/Smith Dorrien area.

Avalanche problems

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Pockets of hard deep slabs in gullied terrain and in alpine terrain. Ice climbers should pay attention to drummy feel as the move across isolated snow coverred slopes and gullies.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • Small avalanches may cause climbers to fall or belayers and gear to become buried.
  • Ice climbers should be equipped with avalanche safety gear.

Weather Summary

Saturday will see North winds becomming more westerly later in the day and temperatures in the -4C range throughout the day under partly cloudy skies. No snow is forecast for this area until Sunday where up to 4 cm will fall.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed or reported on Friday.

Snowpack Summary

The front ranges within the Kananaskis valley are very dry for this time of year. The main concern is pockets of hard slabs in alpine terrain that if triggerred will likely fail to ground. Lots of bare rock is exposed and thin weak areas surrounding the lens of hard slabs should be avoided.

Regions covered