Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Nov 10 – 11, 2019Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 7 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
No rating

Highlights

Not much winds with the most recent storm, but watch for pockets of wind slab as the wind shifts to the SW on Monday. The snowpack is shallow with many buried, or slightly buried, hazards.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    Wind slabs are very isolated, but watch for them in gullies and just below ridge crests. Where present, they may be easy to rigger but probably not very big.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–1.5

    The recent snow is not bonding to the underlying crust. Ice climbers in particular should be aware of their exposure to overhead terrain and terrain traps.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Monday should be mostly sunny with the wind shifting to the SW and increasing in speed. Temperatures will climb to -5 in the Alpine. Tuesday could bring light precipitation in the afternoon.

Avalanche Summary

Isolated loose dry avalanches up to size 1.0 were observed in the Alpine on all aspects.

Snowpack Summary

The rain and wet snow that occurred on Friday has squished the snowpack and formed a crust up to 5cm thick at Treeline and below. The storm last night and this morning has deposited 10 to 15cm of cold dry snow on top of this crust, and unfortunately this is making for a poor bond at this interface. Very little wind effect has been observed in the recent snow, but in any area where a wind slab has formed it will likely be very easy to trigger. Treeline areas are exhibiting a 50 and 80cm deep snowpack. Lower elevations are below threshold for avalanche activity.

Regions covered