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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 3rd, 2022–Mar 4th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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.

Winds will switch to more northerly and moderate on Friday building windslabs on more southern aspects overlying the crust. Be sure to evaluate the bond with the new snow and and the underlying crust. 

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Light snow will continue throughout the evening with total accumulations of 5-10cm. Thursday morning only had about 5cm of accumulated snow by 10am. Winds will be slightly more moderate from the north on friday as cooler air temperatures move into the region. Daytime highs will be around -10C

Avalanche Summary

Loose dry avalanches continued on Thursday with most avalanches being around sz 1 from steep unskiable terrain. A sz 2 cornice failure was observed near heros bowl that hit the normal north facing ski line from heros knob. Wednesday forecasters triggerred a sz 2.5 skier remote avalanche on a SE facing ridge at 2500m in the Highwood pass area. The slab failed down 40cm on the recent melt freeze crust, was 200m wide and ran for 500m. This is a good indication that failures on the crust are beginning to develop. 

Snowpack Summary

20-30cm of recent storm snow is beginning to settle under the influence of warm temperatures and light winds. Isolated windslabs are being found along ridgelines in the Alpine but these slabs do not extend far downslope. The recent snow is poorly bonded to the underlying melt freeze crust on isolated steep solar aspects and forecasters were able to remote trigger a SE facing bowl from a ridge at 2500m. Use caution if travelling on these solar aspects and check the bond with the new snow and the underlying crust.    

Terrain and Travel

  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.

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.