Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 7 – 8, 2016Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Some new snow out there today. 10cm has taken the edge off of old snow surfaces, but not enough to refresh the conditions completely.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Watch for these in steep, thin areas in the alpine. There may be isolated pockets of windslabs near ridges and crossloaded gully features from the new snow.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Gully features are likely areas to encounter this problem. Climbers should be aware of this problem when considering climbs. South aspects are more prone to the problem because of the crust underneath.

Weather Forecast

Clouds clearing out as the day goes on. Maybe some minor residual flurries in the morning hours. The overnight low will be -15 at 2500m. Tomorrow's 2500m high will be -10. The winds will be 15km/hr from the NW.

Avalanche Summary

Some loose dry sluffs out of steep south terrain. Up to sz1. Likely because of a suncrust on those aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Some light snow overnight and today has left us with 7-10cm of new snow. This new snow will be resting on a variety of surfaces, including surface hoar, windslab, facets and a crust on solar aspects.. At the moment there isn't enough snow to present a serious avalanche problem, however loose dry avalanches may become a minor problem on south aspects. So far there has been very little wind to redistribute the new snow. The faceting that was prevalent last week has subsided with the snowpack actually gaining some strength back thanks to the warm temperatures. Below treeline the snowpack is still weak in some areas, but generally supportive. Snowdepths: Burstall Pass 105 & Mud Lake 83.

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