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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 28th, 2020–Jan 29th, 2020

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

We are in a bit of a stagnant pattern until it snows. The danger rating is decreasing in alpine terrain but human triggerring is still POSSIBLE. 10-20cm of new snow is on the horizon for Saturday...

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Wednesday will be a mix of sun and cloud with temperatures around -5C. Winds will be light in the Am and then increasing throughout the day. No significant precip is expected. 

Avalanche Summary

On the snow study helicopter flight today, we had an extensive look around and only found a few loose dry avalanches out of steep unskiable terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Today, we tagged along by helicopter with the crew that does monitoring of the snowpack for spring melt. To the East of highway 40, the bottom half of the snowpack is mostly facets with the height of snow around 100cm. The last week of warmer weather is having a slow effect on the snowpack with weaker temperature gradients and starting to see some of those mid-pack facets rounding. In general, we have a well settled snowpack with several generations of wind slabs in the top 50 cm in the alpine. All of this is still sitting on the November facet/crust combo. 

Terrain and Travel

  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes at and above treeline.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.