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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 4th, 2021–Feb 5th, 2021

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 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, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Lots of new snow, now lots of wind. Caution with overhead hazards as the wind transports snow in the alpine. When traveling in the terrain it is important to watch the snow, if it change from light powder to heaver more dense snow the slab will be more reactive. Good tree skiing

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

A trace amounts of snow over the past 24hr. We are going to start to seeing a cooling trend over the next couple of days. Along with the change in weather there is fairly strong winds forecasted. 60-80km changing to a more north flow.

Avalanche Summary

Evidence of the older cycle, no new avalanches observed, but no observation of the alpine as well very limited field observations.

Snowpack Summary

Lots of new snow out there. We have anywhere from 35-60cm of settling storm snow from the last couple of days. Currently, this snow is low density in the valley bottoms, but stiffens up as elevation is gained. Alpine and treeline winds have begun to create fresh windslabs on eastern aspects. There are also buried windslabs within the storm snow. The Jan 29 (hard windslab/storm snow) interface is slower to bond than expected. Less avalanche activity seen today but no real alpine observations. Winds slab are forming and suspect they will be touchy in the right spot. Deep layers are still hanging in there and so far not failing wit the new load.

Some steep solar aspects may have a sun crust.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Shooting cracks, whumphs and recent avalanches are strong indicators of an unstable snowpack.

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.