Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Nov 22 – 23, 2013Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

We saw another avalanche cycle today  involving the new wind slabs in the alpine. Both weak layers mentioned in the bulletin were involved. Rapid heating may become a trigger, especially in thin rocky areas.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–5
    The wind slabs that are sandwiched between the crust and storm slabs are still a concern. Stepping down may become a concern as load increases, as are thin areas where the crust is easier to disturb.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–4
    These delayed storm slabs have become reactive to natural triggers in the last 24 hours. The windloading has been ongoing for a number of days and the sliding layer now has enough load to be reactive. Human triggering is a real possibility.

Weather Forecast

High pressure is here. No new snow for the next few days, just sun. The temps are expected to rise to above zero in valley bottoms and hover just below zero in the treeline range. Winds will stay at the moderate level with the occasional bump to strong.

Confidence

Good

Avalanche Summary

A widespread Na cycle started today involving the new storm slabs. Slides up to 2.5 were noted throughout the forecast area. They all initiated in the alpine with a variety of layers suspected as the sliding layer. A sun triggered sz2 pulled out on Rundle with the Oct temp crust being the culprit.  Storm snow/existing wind slab interfaces are suspected in the others. The avalanches were in moderately angled terrain (35-45 degrees) and tended to be in more open areas. N-SE aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Wind slabs created with the readily available storm snow continue to develop (and shed) in the alpine. A fairly widespread cycle was observed today with lots of activity in the alpine. Most alpine features had evidence of slab avalanches from the last 12 hours. At TL & below the snowpack is still weak with difficult trail breaking up to TL. The ongoing crust problem is still there and a real concern in thinner areas.

Regions covered