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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 2nd, 2013–Feb 3rd, 2013

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Winds at upper altitudes are still transporting snow into lee features. Wind slab formation continues. Some increase in avalanche hazard could occur on solar aspects due to daytime heating.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Winds will remain strong from the western quadrant and temperatures will be cooler on Sunday. A light precipitation event is expected on Monday, but not significant snowfall amounts are expected.

Avalanche Summary

Report of a few small cornice failures on a S aspect in the Chester Lake area.

Snowpack Summary

A few new cm of snow at higher elevations in the past 48 hours.  Close to 30cm of new snow is now overlying the 0123 windslabs/storm snow interface.  Mid day on friday the chinook started rolling in, winds increased and wind slabs begin to further develop in Alpine areas due to the strong SW flow.  The snowpack is weak and facetted in lower elevations but above 2000m the midpack gains strength and improves.  140cm on average at TL.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.