Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 16th, 2018–Apr 17th, 2018

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Challenging avalanche conditions with poor ski quality.

Confidence

-

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be a typical spring day with sunny periods, cloudy periods and isolated flurries. Winds will be 35-50km/h from the west with a freezing level of 2000m.

Avalanche Summary

Numerous avalanches were observed that had occurred on Sunday in the late afternoon. Some of these avalanches were loose and wet and others were slabs with distinctive crown lines of approximately 50cm deep on average.

Snowpack Summary

Today, we tried to ski the Hero's knob loop and turned around due to a slab sitting on the April 13 crust and the exposure to natural avalanches. 10cm new snow from Sunday night is sitting on a thin melt /freeze crust. Below this is a 40-50cm slab that is poorly bonded to another melt/freeze crust that is 5cm thick produced on April 13 and extends into the alpine. This slab has produced numerous natural avalanches at tree line and in the alpine on all aspects. It is very likely that more avalanches will occur on this layer with strong solar radiation. It is recommended to approach tree line and the alpine with caution and give time for this slab to heal.  The ski quality was poor below 2200m.

Problems

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.