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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2020–Feb 22nd, 2020

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Tomorrow will be similar to today weather wise. It could be worth sneaking in a longer day. Sunday may bring us some much needed snow.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Temperatures will dip slightly tonight to -10 and warm up to -6 for tomorrow afternoon. Most of the day will be cloudy, but as evening approaches there will be a clearing trend. Temperatures will also fall to -20! No significant snow is expected tomorrow, but Sunday might bring some snow. Winds will continue to be gusty (up to 50km/hr) tomorrow and they'll be out of the SW.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing seen today.

Snowpack Summary

Variable winds have stripped many ridge lines and made for windslabs of varying thicknesses in open areas at treeline and above. In most areas these slabs sit on a solid midpack ranging in thickness from 50cm to well over a meter. And, as expected the deep layers are still with us and still concerning for large triggers. The crusts from past warm weather spells are still apparent in valley bottoms, but generally not a problem.

Terrain and Travel

  • Caution around convexities or sharp changes in terrain.

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.