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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 27th, 2020–Feb 28th, 2020

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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas and mellow alpine terrain.  

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Friday is forecast to be a mix of sun and cloud with flurries developing in the late afternoon. The temperature is expected to rise to -4c along with moderate to strong SW winds. Saturday is suppose to bring 5-10cm of snow. Stay tuned....

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed and we pretty much saw the entire region.

Snowpack Summary

The forecasters had the opportunity to hang out with the hydrology guys who monitor the spring run-off. We did an extensive flight of K-Country and here is what we found:

1. Tombstone Pass(East of highway 40): HS of 140cm, moderately weak mid pack, mostly facets but could not get any results with shovel compression test.

2. Mist Mountain (south of Highwood Pass): HS was 100cm with a very weak snowpack throughout with facets. Foot pen was 90cm.

3. Odlum Creek (south of Highwood Pass but further west): We dug a full profile,and found a strong midpack and no shovel test results.The bottom 50cm of the snowpack was the usual facet/depth hoar combo. Temperature gradient of the snowpack was weak.

4. Three Isle Lake: We also dug a full profile here with HS of 170cm, very strong midpack consisting of rounds or rounding facets. Again no results with shovel tests. The bottom 50cm of the snowpack was the usual facet/depth hoar combo. Temperature gradient of the snowpack was weak.

-We did not see one new avalanche in our entire flight. The alpine did look fairly wind effected as there was a strong SW flow.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.