Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 30 – 31, 2016Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Conservative terrain choices are the thing to be doing right now.  Backing off is also a better option then riding a slide down....

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–4
    Buried windslabs are being encountered at treeline and above. 

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–5
    Persistent slabs up to 40cm thick are are widespread in Alpine lee features and in more specific areas at treeline. Touchy in shallow areas

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–3
    New storm slabs up to 20cm thick are being encountered around ridgelines and gullied terrain in Alpine areas.

Confidence

High

Weather Forecast

Cloudy with sunny periods.Precipitation: Nil.Alpine temperature: High -10 °C.Ridge wind northwest: 10 km/h.Freezing level at valley bottom.

Avalanche Summary

A few naturals up to sz 2 out of steeper rocky terrain that may have been solar triggered during the middle of the day.  Otherwise there is still a surprising lack of natural avalanche activity on the January 6th interface.  Winds increasing may initiate an increase in natural avalanche activity to keep an eye on localized wind affects.

Snowpack Summary

A few cm of new snow fell overnight with generally light winds.  Over the past few days 15-20cm of new snow has fallen.  This snow has not seen much wind yet but the previous windslabs from earlier in the week are now hidden by this recent storm.  Easy-Moderate sheers were being noted within the recent storm snow as well as at the January 6th interface down 40-50cm.  These hidden windslabs and persistent slabs are more prevalent at treeline and above and are most likely to be triggered from a thinner snowpack area where the weak facetted crystals are more sensitive to light loads such as a skier.  Today forecasters turned around on a feature at treeline due to concerns associated with the persistent slab.

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