Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2024–Jan 5th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

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.

This is a good time to remind folks that "low" hazard doesn't mean "no" hazard. Low still allows for small avalanches, or even large anomalous avalanches. Due diligence and caution is still important.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new observed in the last couple of days.

Snowpack Summary

Four flakes fell today which brings our weekly flake total to 12. Doesn't sound like much, but in relative terms that's huge! Unfortunately those 12 flakes haven't been enough to change anything in our snowpack. We're still dealing with lots of exposed rock/gravel and intermittent hard slab in the alpine, followed by old isolated windslabs at treeline with a poor base of depth hoar and facets. The midpack crust is still there holding it all together, which is a good thing. Valley bottom hasn't seen any change either. It's all loose facets with remnants of a once strong crust.

Weather Summary

Bit of a chilly start to the day tomorrow. -13 in the morning and rising to -10 as a high. We are expecting 3cm of snow overnight! might need those new goggles you got for Christmas! Winds will be light from the Southwest, with the occasional gust near ridges or summits.

In some forecasts there is a hint of snow by the 7th. We may get 10cm if we're lucky, which could really help our general snow situation.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
Be especially cautious 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

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.