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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 7th, 2022–Mar 8th, 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.

Watch for pockets of wind slab on all aspects in the Alpine. Buried sun crusts on solar aspects may be reactive in steeper terrain at treeline and above.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be cool with temps between -20 and -14 under a mix of sun and cloud. Later in the afternoon some very light flurries could roll in. Winds should be light from the north.

Wednesday should be mostly sunny and unseasonably cold (-25 in the morning!).

Avalanche Summary

Isolated loose dry avalanches up to size 1.0 observed today, adds to the more widespread cycle observed over the weekend. No recent slab activity has been noted.

Snowpack Summary

Convective flurries on Monday afternoon dropped 5cm of snow in a short period of time. These convective flurries will bring highly variable snow amounts to the different valleys. At upper elevations the winds have just started to form a wind skin on the surface, and this could be more developed into wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded features that are wind prone. Forecasters are watching the Feb 19 interface down 40 to 60cm. This layer was a hard wind slab or sun crust on solar aspects, and may be a good sliding layer where enough snow density sits above. Conditions are highly variable depending on aspect and elevation, so take the time to dig into the snowpack and evaluate the bond with the Feb 19 interface.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

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.