Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Kananaskis.
If we do see a warming trend tomorrow, expect the snowpack to become more sensitive to triggering. Especially for loose dry avalanches and cornices that will be in the sun.
Confidence
High -
Weather Forecast
One more chilly morning and we'll have this cold snap licked. -25 as a morning low, but the good news is a daytime high of -9. The forecast also says blue skies, but experience says a thin layer of cloud is likely as the air mass shifts. Light winds and no snow. All things considered, it sounds like a nice day.
Avalanche Summary
The loose dry avalanches continue. They are still small, but a MIN did report a slab being triggered from a loose dry.
Snowpack Summary
Wind slabs are apparent in the exposed alpine, but generally pretty good surface conditions for skiing. The surface faceting is also helping to keep the snow soft and skiable. The Jan 29th interface is still on the radar. Its down 50-60cm and is worth checking on if you're venturing out into uncharted terrain.
Terrain and Travel
- Pay attention to isolated alpine features as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
- Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
- If triggered loose wet avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
- If triggered, loose dry avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Lets think east side of the road vs west side of the road for a second. On the west side, windslabs are present at treeline and above. They are weak from the cold spell and will be more likely to trigger on steep convex rolls. Conversely, the east side of the road is much shallower and has a more sensitive and unpredictable feel to it. Choose supported terrain with no terrain traps.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5