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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 22nd, 2017–Dec 23rd, 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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Slow skiing with the cooler temperatures.  Watch for windslabs on all aspects developing with the incoming north winds.

Confidence

High - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

No new snow is forecast for the next few days and conditions are likely to be cold!!!  North winds will cause some reverse loading so be mindful for windslabs on all aspects.

Avalanche Summary

No new activity in the past 24hrs.

Snowpack Summary

5-15cm new snow with the deeper areas being in the eastern region (Hwy 40).  Windslabs being found in Alpine terrain along ridgelines and in cross loaded areas but they do not extend far downslop. At treeline a surface hoar layer is being found widespread up to 2200m down 30cm but a lack of a cohesive slab over this layer is preventing it being a problem...yet.  Facets are building over the november crusts but we are still generally only getting hard to no results on this layer. 

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.