Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Apr 16 – 17, 2017Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Warm and sunny for Monday.  Expect strong solar radiation to rapidly change the snow stability.  Stay away from large cornices overhead.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Recent wind slabs have formed on lee aspects (N and E) in alpine areas as a result of previous strong SW winds.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3
    We are not entirely free from this layer yet. It is still down there and more suspect in thin areas, cold areas that haven't seen a warming cycle and large terrain that hasn't avalanched yet.

Confidence

-

Weather Forecast

Monday is calling for cloudy skies with sunny periods. Ridge winds are expected to be 15km/hr from the SW.  Alpine temperature should reach 0c with a freezing level of 2400m.  Expect strong solar radiation to destabilize the slopes especially on solar aspects.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity was observed on Sunday.

Snowpack Summary

Expect widespread crusts  on aspects up to 2200m and on solar aspects up to 2700m. Recent wind slabs can be encountered in Alpine terrain or North through East aspects as a result of strong winds over the past few days. Solar aspects have also been blown down to the previous crust in alpine terrain. 100-140cm of settled snow is overlying the weak basal facets. Moderate to hard sheers persist in these basal facets and are sudden collapse in nature. There is no hint of the snowpack starting to go isothermal in most areas.

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