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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 27th, 2022–Feb 28th, 2022

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Strong SW winds and a good pulse of new snow will increase the avalanche hazard. Be aware of changing conditions.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

A SW flow will bring mild temps, windy conditions and 10 to 15cm of new snow by Monday afternoon. Freezing levels will climb to 1900m.

Tuesday and Wednesday will also be snowy. Models disagree, but the region should receive 20 to 40cm by Wednesday evening.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new observed on Sunday, but a size 1.5 natural avalanche occurred off the SE corner of Little Tent Ridge on Saturday. This was a slab avalanche that ran into the valley floor and washed over some ski tracks. Forecasters also noted a couple of other size 1.5 wind slabs on east aspects in the past 48 hours.

Snowpack Summary

Strong SW winds have redistributed a large amount of snow over the past 36 hours. Wind slabs up to 20cm thick were found at treeline today, and forecasters suspect this is more widespread in the alpine. A thin sun crust was also observed on solar aspects. The previous storm snow, and now these fresh wind slabs, predominantly sit on the Feb 19 interface, which is sun crust on solar aspects and hard wind slab almost everywhere else. Unfortunately, this layer provides a good sliding surface and will likely become more reactive as the SW winds continue and the snowfall amounts add up early in the week.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes at and above treeline.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.

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.