Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 27th, 2022–Jan 28th, 2022

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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Wind slabs have made travel challenging at tree line and above. Some better skiing/riding can be had in sheltered treed areas and lower angled terrain.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Friday: A mix of sun and cloud with a high of -4c in the alpine. No snow forecast but plenty of wind from the West at 70km/hr. Freezing level expected to be 1300m.

Saturday: Cloudy with sunny periods and a high of -8c with moderate winds from the West.  

Next Week: There might be a few cm's on Monday. Fingers crossed and stay tuned....

Avalanche Summary

No new reported or observed today

Snowpack Summary

Extensive wind slabs, hard wind slabs, buried wind slabs, and sastrugi(wavy ridges of snow formed by the wind) dominate the alpine and open areas of tree line. These hard wind slabs can be tricky to evaluate because they have the potential to propagate but gives someone the impression underfoot that the base is solid. Take the time to dig and evaluate before committing to larger slopes.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.

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.