Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 13 – 14, 2017Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Stable conditions out there.  Wind slabs cover most of the alpine and extend into tree line.  Good skiing can be found near tree line and below.  Be cautious of thinner snow coverage and natural hazards(logs and tree stumps) in the trees.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Wind slabs can be found in most places in the alpine and extend somewhat into treeline. These slabs are 10-30cm thick and can be hard and breakable.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    This layer is widespread in terms of its location in the terrain. Its condition seems to vary from an intact crust to a facetted mish mash of weak grains. Thin areas that have a hard slab over top should be treated with caution.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Thursday is expected to bring mostly sunny skies with a temperature inversion (1c in the alpine and cooler in the valley bottom).  Winds will be 25km/hr from the west.  Freezing level is suppose to be at valley bottom.  Cooler temps and isolated flurries forecast for Friday.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanche activity observed.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is mostly stable and will not not change much until  we see a major weather change. Quite a bit of wind slab on all aspects in the alpine and trending to treeline. This wind slab can be quite hard and mostly breakable. Isolated sun crust on steep solar aspects. Surface hoar is growing and is found up to 2100m. The November rain crusts will be present for the season and are 30-50cm down from the surface but are not a big concern at the moment.

Regions covered