Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 6 – 7, 2016Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Great skiing can be found if you are willing to brave the frigid temperatures. Watch for buried wind slabs along ridge-crests that could be human-triggered.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Pockets of wind slab are present in Alpine terrain along ridge-crests. These slabs are present on all aspects due to lee loading and reverse loading.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Buried wind slabs are present in the alpine and treeline and are found 40 to 60cm below the surface.

Confidence

High - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Arctic air has moved into the region bringing cold temps (highs near -21 °C) and generally sunny skies. Winds are generally going to be light from the North and no precipitation is expected for the next couple of days.

Avalanche Summary

Two small loose dry avalanches were observed today in very steep Alpine terrain on an East aspect.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 25cm of low density recent storm snow overlies a buried wind slab. In the Alpine these buried wind slabs are reacting to stability tests in the "hard" range. Isolated pockets of recently formed wind slab were observed at ridge-crest in the Alpine, formed both by reverse loading and lee loading. The Nov 12th crust is now buried 65cm at Treeline and has not been reactive to stability tests.

Regions covered