Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 15 – 16, 2016Alberta Parks
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Continuous flurries are keeping the hazard consistent these days. That trend will continue for awhile yet. Many large slopes have not yet avalanched this season and appear very fat. Treat big terrain with caution-especially if it hasn't avalanched.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–5
    There are fresh, alpine windslabs forming at the moment. The snow temps are perfect for wind slabs and wind "pressing". Beneath these new slabs are a variety of older slabs that extend down to treeline. Probing will help indicate where they are.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–5
    These are growing by the day! Remember that they can fall off at any time regardless of current weather conditions. Avoid spending any time under, or over them.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    3–6
    This layer is starting to get our attention again. As the new treeline snow settles, the burial depth is staying relatively constant at 1m. Keep an eye on where thin spots may be present and avoid shallow areas at all elevations.

Confidence

High

Weather Forecast

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries tomorrow. The alpine high will be -8 with a 1300m freezing level. Winds will out of the NW and average 40km/hr.

Avalanche Summary

One notable avalanche was seen today. It was a healthy sz2.5 on a north east aspect, alpine feature in the northern part of the forecast region. It was immediately below a large headwall and was at 2400m. The deposit wasn't visible, so the size is an estimate. If it stepped it may be a sz3.

Snowpack Summary

Ongoing convective flurries continue to add the the snowpack daily. At treeline, we now have 20-30cm of recent snow on top of the March 8th layer. This interface is slow to improve, but so far the slab density above it is soft and only a concern in the upper reaches of the  treeline zone. The Feb 11th layer is down 40cm and the Feb 27th is down 50-60cm. In all cases the bond is healing, but still something to watch. 2150m seems to be the magic number when it comes to the crusts disappearing. South aspects may vary depending on angle. Interestingly, the Jan 6th layer appears to be getting worse as the surface snow settles and gains some density. At treeline we are finding that layer to be down about 1m and reacting in tests. The alpine is currently going through another windloading event. Slabs from transport and settlement were noted today in any open terrain. The soft slabs are dense enough to propagate in the right terrain (steep & convex).

Regions covered