Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 27th, 2024–Nov 28th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

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, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Winds have increased in the Alpine. Wind slabs development is expected to pick up over the next couple of days. The snowpack is still shallow and generally weak. Watch for those "sharks" out there to prevent an early season injury!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Very isolated naturally triggered loose dry avalanches were observed today in extremely steep alpine terrain. These slides occurred on easterly aspects, and stayed narrow and small in size.

Snowpack Summary

The winds have finally returned...to some extent. Alpine areas are experiencing wind transport along ridgelines. Lee and cross-loaded features will see increased wind slab development over the next couple of days. The flow is generally from the NW, so watch for wind loading on S and SE aspects as well as the typical N and NE aspects. At Treeline and below the winds have had minimal impact so far. The October rain crust is buried between 30 and 60cm deep, and can provide a good sliding layer. While this layer is widespread in the region, it has not been overly reactive in recent days. Eastern areas, such as the Highwood Pass zone have a generally shallower and weaker snowpack. Field teams today had a hard time putting turns together as the snowpack is often not strong enough to support the weight of a skier.

Weather Summary

Thursday could bring 2 to 5cm of new snow with moderate W or NW winds. Daytime temps should reach -8 under cloudy skies.

Continued light flurries are expected Friday and Saturday.

For more weather check out: https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.

Problems

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.

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.