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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2014–Feb 1st, 2014

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

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.

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.

Problems

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.

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.