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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 17th, 2017–Dec 18th, 2017

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Snow and wind are on the way. Be prepared for an increase in avalanche danger.

Confidence

Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Sunday night could see 10 to15cm of new snow with moderate westerly winds. Monday will be cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Alpine temperature will reach a high of -11 °C. with continued moderate westerly winds. A further 15 to 20cm of snow is forecast for Tuesday.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported for at least 1 week.

Snowpack Summary

Another windy day on Sunday, but this has led to little change in the snowpack. The winds, temperatures and lack of snow have left a variety of surface layers- none of which are conducive to good skiing. Valley bottom has decomposing surface hoar that is covered with a dusting of snow from the past 48 hours. Treeline is a widespread wind slab surface covering the crusts from late november. The alpine is also severely wind affected and on any windward aspect its blown to gravel or the old crusts. In general, there is not much out there for avalanche problems at the moment.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.