Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, Kananaskis, North 40, Spray - KLakes.
Wind slabs linger at upper elevations. Travelling around is OK but ski quality is generally poor.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Yesterday, very isolated and very small naturally triggered sluffs were observed in steep Alpine terrain on solar aspects. No slab avalanches observed or reported.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 5cm of recent snow is overlying mostly wind slabs in the alpine. These near surface wind slabs continue to be the most concerning issue in our snowpack. They are essentially widespread, but vary in thickness and density. Areas of hard slab are the most concerning as they are the most likely to propagate. In sheltered areas, or areas that haven't seen travel the snowpack is still very weak. While walking or skiing it isn't uncommon to punch to ground. Snowpack depths remain well below average. The snow profile below shows how weak the snowpack is in most areas.
Weather Summary
Wednesday should climb to -7c along with a mix of sun and cloud and possibly a light flurry. Winds are forecast to be light out of the SW.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Carefully evaluate big and steep terrain features before committing to them.
- Avoid steep terrain, including convex rolls, or areas with a thin, rocky, or variable snowpack.
- Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Avoid hollow feeling wind slabs in alpine terrain, especially near thin or convex terrain. The wind slabs are also found at treeline but in more isolated pieces of terrain such as small gullies.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2