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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 21st, 2017–Dec 22nd, 2017

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
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.

Watch for pockets or windslabs along ridgelines and crossloaded features in the alpine and isolated areas at treeline.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations on Thursday

Weather Forecast

Cloudy with trace of new snow overnight.  Winds continue out of the north and are light.  Look at Mountain weather services also available at Avalanche.ca

Avalanche Summary

No new activity in the past 24hrs. 

Snowpack Summary

The recent storm snow continues to settle.  Some windslabs were observed in Alpine areas up to 25cm thick but these were not that widespread at this time.  The Dec 15th interface is down 30-40cm but a lack of a cohesive slab is preventing widespread activity on this layer.  The key thing to be aware of is the windslabs that are developing and the potential for triggering as you move into more wind affected areas.

Problems

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.

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.