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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 16th, 2020–Nov 17th, 2020

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
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Size 2 avalanche skier triggered today with 1 involved, luckily no injuries. The trick is to find some skiing with enough snow to ski that has not been wind affected or have a slab. Caution with overhead hazards, it is a bit tricky out there with the variability in the snow.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Continued moderate to strong winds in the Alpine, warmer temperatures. This will bring unsettled weather to the region. Possibility of snow flurries over the next couple of days, amounts will very from area to area.

Avalanche Summary

1 skier accidental, 

Size 2 

N-NE aspect 

30cm deep, 75m wide, 300m long

Failure plane was reported close to ground, suspecting facets on the November crust. 

Snowpack Summary

On the Spray we found 30-50cm of snow below treeline. The lower elevation skiing is very hazardous still. The Nov 5 crust sits just above the ground and is still carrying the weight of a skier in most areas. There were no test done just not enough snow to get results, but from yesterdays findings of the facet layer just above the crust there is still concerns for wind loaded slopes where there is enough load or slab to have an avalanche. Alpine observations were just from lower elevations and look like lot so very wind affected snow. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.

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.