Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 31 – Feb 1, 2014Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

The extended cold temps are weakening the upper snowpack and as a result wind slabs are becoming less reactive. However, caution in untracked terrain or areas with no previous avalanche activity is still advised.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Some improvement over the past few weeks however these slabs are still a concern in very specific terrain. This  includes steep, convex, immediate lee features at upper treeline to alpine.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    3–6
    Testing  today near treeline again showed a sudden collapse in the basal weakness. Steep variable terrain with no previous activity is a likely spot to trigger a wide propagation.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Looks like clear skies for the next 24 hours with cooler temperatures. Day time high tomorrow at valley bottom -10C. Moderate ridge top winds tomorrow and no new snow.

Avalanche Summary

No new observations today.

Snowpack Summary

Valley bottom, weak thin snow pack up to 1950m. Starting to support above 2000m. Above this the midpack here has more structure than from a month ago. Approaching treeline faceting from the cold is more evident. Sheltered areas at treeline are still weak. Open areas at treeline and alpine have consolidated with previous wind effect. Testing the past 2 days have shown a consistently poor result with a sudden collapse at ground in a depth hoar layer. Snow depth Mud lake area 83cm, Burstall Pass 109cm.

Regions covered