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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 1st, 2015–Jan 2nd, 2015

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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

We are seeing a slow improvement in stability but human triggerred avalanches are still very possible.  Watch for thin weak areas as you move into treeline and above.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Flurries are forecast to cross the region over the next few days but we are not expecting to see much accumulation over the next 24hrs.

Avalanche Summary

Some new sluffing out of steeper terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Not much has changed in the last while. The winds have recently spiked with the arrival of the warm temperatures. Some snow has been redistributed, but it seems this is more pronounced at lower elevations. The persistent layers are still the prominent feature in the snowpack. The Dec 13th rain crust is down 20-30cm's at 2200m. The mid pack is giving us the strength in the snowpack. It is consistently dense and bridging the weaker deep layers. The bottom layers are now one thick layer of facets and depth hoar.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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.