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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2022–Feb 1st, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

The new snow has brought a welcome re-set and some great skiing. However, the new snow is not bonding well to the old surfaces. Human triggering is very likely in any wind affected terrain. Conservative terrain choices are in order.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be mainly cloudy with another 5cm expected. Temperatures will show an abnormal trend, starting out at -15c and dropping through the day into the -20's. Winds should be relatively light from the west.

Wednesday looks cold with temps between -20 and -30.

Avalanche Summary

Several naturally triggered loose dry avalanches were observed in Alpine terrain. These slides were up to size 2.0 and occurred on SE, N and NE aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30cm of new snow fell at treeline over the past 24 hours, with an additional 3 to 5cm through the day. In general, this new snow is not bonding well with the underlying surface, especially in areas with this previous surface was hard wind slab or sun crust. Fresh surface wind slabs 30 to 60cm thick are evident in the Alpine and just into treeline, and the strong winds will continue to build these through the night. Forecasters observed cracking in steeper terrain at 2400m on Monday. Lee and cross-loaded terrain is a concern for human triggering. Several loose dry avalanches were also observed in steep terrain.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes at and above treeline.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.

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.