Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Feb 2 – 3, 2015Alberta Parks
View on map
Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

The snow has taken a turn for the better. Sheltered areas at treeline are the place to find decent snow right now. Watch for new slabs as you approach treeline.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    There are some buried windslabs out there, but the most concerning are the new wind slabs sitting on top of the boiler plate wind slab from the wind event. These slabs are easily seen when traveling. In steep terrain, the bond will be weak.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–3
    More of a concern in very steep terrain with a shallow snowpack.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–5
    This appears to still be a problem on the shallower eastern slopes. The Mt. Engadine side of the valley had numerous avalanches involving this layer.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries tomorrow. High of -7 at 2500m. Winds gusting to 50km/hr from the west.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing from the last 24hrs, but there is a fair bit of older action from open areas at treeline and immediate lee areas at lower the alpine elevations. Sz2's were spotted mostly on the south & south east aspects. The eastern side of the road also had some recent activity in the alpine. Most involved the basal layers.

Snowpack Summary

We are dealing with a complex snowpack right now. Below treeline has 16cm's of new snow sitting on top the January 31 crust. In some places we've found surface hoar on top of the crust, and in others a thin layer facets. So far the distribution of the surface hoar is unknown. Beneath the crust, the January 16th surface hoar is also present in unpredictable places. Luckily, there does not appear to be an avalanche problem with any of these layers. At treeline, the snowpack starts to have a series of windslabs that are reactive to stability tests. In today's profile (top of the Dog leg run), immediatley below the Jan 31st crust there is a thin, hard windslab that is reacting in the moderate range (CT11, SC down 20cm's). This suggests there are human triggerable windslabs out there in the right piece if terrain. At upper treeline and alpine, the winds continued to transport snow. A reverse loading pattern was noted today. The new slabs are sitting on a hardslab that likely has a poor bond. These slabs are easily spotted and avoidable.

Regions covered