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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 25th, 2020–Jan 26th, 2020

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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.

Warm temps are promoting new windslab development in alpine areas and with stronger winds forecast on Sunday, we can expect these slabs to grow and become stiffer and more reactive. Pay close attention to freezing levels, stability will decrease on solar aspects of the sun comes 

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

The freezing level will begin dropping tonight as we have overnight lows of around -12C forecast for the region. Light snow will fall tomorrow along the divide but overall accumulations are not expected to be significant. Sunday will be pretty much a carbon copy of Saturday with daytime highs around -4C. The biggest difference is winds are forecast to increase mid morning sunday with it returning to moderate to strong out of the SW.  

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new today but observations were limited.

Snowpack Summary

10-13cm over the past 24hrs. A thin temperature crust was being found on solar aspects below 2000m early this morning. Easy sheers were being noted in the new windslabs that formed friday in open areas down 20-30cm and the dec 31st SH/FC layer continues to produce moderate- hard sudden planar sheers down 40-50cm below 2300m. Any avalanche in the upper snowpack will likely step down the the weak basal layers and be big. Be thinking about consequences. If the sun comes out, watch for stability to decrease especially on solar aspects.

Terrain and Travel

  • Seek out wind sheltered terrain below treeline where you can avoid wind slabs and find great riding.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a deep persistent slab.
  • Avoid slopes that sound hollow or drum-like.

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.

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.