Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Feb 24th, 2016 3:00PM

The alpine rating is considerable, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.

matt.mueller, Alberta Parks

Kananaskis.

The change to MOD at treeline reflects the improving trend with the Feb 11th layer. Keep in mind, at MOD, human triggering is still possible in specific areas. Safe travel still requires attention and good use of terrain.

Summary

Confidence

High

Weather Forecast

Overnight lows will reach -16. A mix of sun and cloud for tomorrow. Alpine highs will be around -3 with steady west winds reaching 25km/hr. The freezing level will approach valley bottom.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new today.

Snowpack Summary

Below treeline is still a blend of crusts and newer snow. Travel is reasonable with ski penetrations of 20-30cm in untracked terrain. The snowpack has continued to improve at the treeline elevation. Today's investigation had a hard windslab on east aspects down 40cm. The bond with the underlying snow appeared to be quite good, but given the current variability, it is a hard put a lot of weight on the test results. This slab was limited to exposed areas and is thought to be left over from the reverse loading event from Feb 8. The alpine is still soft wind slab mixed in with hard slabs. Cornices are on all aspects and in some cases, quite large and intimidating.

Problems

Wind Slabs

The slabs above this layer are variable in terms of their location and stiffness. Recent tests have shown an improving trend, but its a good idea to stick to supported terrain features. Frequent digging will also help with the variability question.

Caution around convexities or areas with a thin or variable snowpack.>Carefully evaluate big terrain features by digging and testing on adjacent, safe slopes.>

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.

Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

1 - 3

Persistent Slabs

Large triggers are the main concern in terms of triggering this layer. Keep an eye on overhead threats such as cornices. The base of alpine cliffs have been a common theme with the recent avalanche observations.

Avoid steep slopes below cornices.>Give cornices a wide berth when travelling on or below ridges.>

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.

Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

2 - 5

Valid until: Feb 25th, 2016 2:00PM