Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, Kananaskis, North 40, Spray - KLakes.
Some wind slabs exist in the alpine. Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas at tree line and above.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported.
Snowpack Summary
The surface snow has faceted and is providing good skiing. The winds in the last 36hours have created some wind slab development in isolated areas such as cross loaded gullies and the lee sides of mountain passes. The snowpack varies a lot. Thicker areas at tree line and above with close to 100cm of snow have a much denser snowpack while most areas below tree line have 40-50cm and consist mostly of facets(sugar snow).
The weak basal facets are still a concern and have a potential to be triggered from thin snowpack areas which are still plentiful at this time.
Weather Summary
Thursday will bring mostly cloudy skies with the odd sunny break and maybe 1 cm of snow. The high temperature in the alpine will climb to -8c and the winds are expected to be in the 25-40km/hr from the NW near ridgetop.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.
- Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
- Wind slabs are isolated, but may remain reactive.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Deep Persistent Slabs
If triggered, surface wind slabs may step down and involve this layer. Avalanche sizes could be surprisingly large if this happens.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5