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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 10th, 2017–Dec 11th, 2017

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Good skiing can still be found in sheltered and shady places in the Alpine.Generally a stable snowpack.  Keep watch for signs of the snow warming up with the high freezing level on Monday.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Tonight, we are looking at low of 0c.  Tomorrow, the forecast indicates sunny skies with cloudy periods along with winds from the West at 20km/hr.  The freezing level for Monday is expected to rise to 3000m.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanche activity observed.

Snowpack Summary

The story will be quite the same this week.  Surface hoar growth continues and can be found up to 2100m.  Steep solar aspects will have moist snow when the sun shines on it, especially on Monday with the high freezing level.  This moist snow will then turn into a crust once the sun disappears.  The upper snowpack continues to settle considerably with the warm temperatures.  There is no big concern at the moment for the November rain crusts.  Variable wind slabs can be found in the alpine and into treeline.

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.