Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Kananaskis.
Wind slabs and more wind on Monday is the theme. Take the time to investigate the wind slabs in the alpine and at treeline.
Good skiing has been found in sheltered areas.
Confidence
High -
Weather Forecast
Generally warmer temperatures for the week. Monday's high in the alpine will be -4c, along with up to 100km/hr westerly winds. The good news is that around midday on Monday flurries will begin and hopefully leave us with 10cm of snow by the end of day on Tuesday.
It is March now and the sun has a lot of strength. If the sun comes out, expect moist snow on southerly aspects and of course that would be a crust in the morning hours.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed.
Snowpack Summary
The forecasters dug a profile at treeline today and found about 10-20cm of loose snow overlying a 20cm wind slab and did produce a clean sheer. There was evidence of several other generations of wind slabs as well. Generally a well consolidated snow pack but worth digging and looking at the top meter before committing to bigger lines. The alpine sure looked loaded by wind and will get another dose of it on Monday. These wind slabs and the loading in the alpine is the reason we are rating the hazard at "Considerable".
Terrain and Travel
- Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
- Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain.
- Pay attention to isolated alpine features as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
The alpine looks loaded and has new and old buried wind slabs. Take the time to evaluate these.
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Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5