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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 26th, 2021–Nov 27th, 2021

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Warm temperatures, light snow and high winds are keeping the hazard tricky to nail down, and likely variable from valley to valley. If traveling into the alpine, or exposing yourself to overhead terrain do your homework first and make as many field observations as you can.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Tomorrow will be very similar to today. Cloudy, some flurries and moderate west winds. It will be a bit cooler with morning lows around -12. Sunday is looking snowier with most forecasts calling for a stronger pulse of snow. 10-15cm hopefully by Sunday night. Unfortunately wind is associated with this inbound snow, but we can talk about that tomorrow.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed today.

Snowpack Summary

10cm on the Spray road this afternoon. With the warm temps, this snow was be heavy and settled quickly. It settled so quickly our snow depth gauges didn't even register it. Winds were still an issue in the alpine, but treeline and sheltered areas seem to have been spared the full brunt of the 100km/hr wind storm. Keep in mind this was on the Spray. Highwood is probably different, especially the east side of the road. Windslabs are still our main concern with the deeper crusts/dense layers on our radar, but not on our problem list yet.

Terrain and Travel

  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Winter conditions may exist in gullies, alpine bowls, and around ridgelines.
  • Ice climbers should be equipped with avalanche safety gear.

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.