Kananaskis

The avalanche hazard will stay in the the moderate to low range. Travel condtions are good, the skies are sunny but the ski quality is less desirable.

No new avalanches were observed or reported.

Surface hoar has been growing over the past few days with the cooler nights. Otherwise not much is changing, and backcountry users can expect a thin melt freeze crust on all aspects up to 2300m, and higher and thicker on solar aspects. Wind slabs are common at treeline and above from the strong winds over this past week with some areas stripped down to rock. A buried surface hoar layer is also being found down 50cm up to 2100m that has been producing results in the hard range.

The November crust is deeply buried in the snowpack down 120-200cm. Recent field tests on this layer have produced no results. There is still some concern for triggering this layer from thin snowpack areas.

The high pressure system persists bringing sunny skies and no precip. Daytime highs should reach -8C at treeline, with ridgetop winds in the moderate to strong range from the NW. No real snowfalls in the forecast.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid steep terrain, including convex rolls, or areas with a thin, rocky, or variable snowpack.
• Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.