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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 19th, 2018–Jan 20th, 2018

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

Strong winds have punished the snowpack in most open areas.  Watch for pockets of preserved surface hoar at treeline and below! 

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

A trace of new snow may fall overnight with temperatures on Saturday around -11C in the Alpine.  Winds will continue to be moderate out of the SW.

Avalanche Summary

A few new size two avalanches were observed in the past 24hrs.  These avalanches were seen in steeper treeline areas failing down 30-40cm.  Explosives results produced a few smaller avalanches and one larger treeline avalanche that crossed the smith dorrien highway.

Snowpack Summary

20cm of recent snow over the past 48hrs with strong winds.  Alpine terrain has definetly been ravenged by the winds with some windward slopes stripped bare and hard slabs on more N and E aspects.  At treeline there are two surface hoar layers down 30cm (Jan 6th) and down 50cm (Dec 15th) that have slowly becoming more reactive over the past few days.  Steeper features and unsupported roles should be treated with caution, especially in un-skied terrain.    No recent activity on the November crusts but we have not let these weaknesses fall from our thoughts.  Weak facets can be found surrounding these layers which indicates that these is potential for a slide to step down to one of these layers.

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.

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.