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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 19th, 2024–Nov 21st, 2024

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

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Storm snow from earlier in the week has made the region look better but its still pretty thin going out there. More snow is forecast later in the week which will help build the base up in the region and improve the skiing. Highwood pass saw a small avalanche cycle within the recent storm snow while the Spray road had less activity.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

An avalanche cycle occurred on N and E aspects in the Highwood pass region with avalanche up to sz 2. Most of these avalanches failed on the recent storm snow interface but there was also one sz 2 that failed down deeper on the October crust on a N aspect.

Snowpack Summary

Field teams were in the Highwood pass area on Tuesday following the recent upslope storm event. This region saw up to 30cm of snow that fell under the influence of generally light winds while areas along the spray lakes saw less snow (15-20cm). At Highwood pass there was a small avalanche cycle on the storm snow interface down 30-40cm with numerous avalanches up to sz 2 a this interface mainly failing on northern aspects. Further down in the snowpack the October crust is evident and producing hard snowpack results in field tests.

Overall its still pretty thin and despite wanting to make some turns, we more focused on getting down and up and saving our knees.

Weather Summary

See image Below.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Be cautious of buried obstacles, especially below treeline.
  • Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.