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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 24th, 2022–Mar 25th, 2022

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Pay close attention to the temperature and solar radiation as they will quickly change the avalanche hazard. Best to start early and finish early.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Thursday was warm enough to make the snow moist on all aspects which caused several wet loose avalanches. Thursday night is suppose to go down to -10c and Friday is expected to be sunny with cloudy periods and a high of -1c in the alpine. Winds will be around 30km/h from the SW. Pay close attention to the temperature and solar radiation as the snow will likely change quickly and you will likely see wet loose avalanches on solar aspects.

Avalanche Summary

More loose wet avalanches were observed on Thursday. Expect more on Friday.

Snowpack Summary

About 10cm fell Wednesday night and is settling fast. This new snow sits on a temperature crust on all aspects up to 2500m. Dry snow was encountered only on true North aspects above 2500m. The forecasters are still concerned for the persistent slab problem on steep solar aspects which are two buried crusts down about 40cm and 60cm. The load of new wet loose avalanches might be enough to wake up these buried crusts and cause larger avalanches. If the temperature is higher than forecast or the sky is clearer on Friday, the hazard could go to Considerable.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.