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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 26th, 2020–Jan 27th, 2020

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Wind slabs are present in the alpine and into tree line. Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas.  

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Monday is to bring a mostly cloudy day with light flurries throughout the day. Temperatures are expected to hover around -7c, along with moderate SW winds.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed.

Snowpack Summary

We dug a snowpit at treeline today at 2300m on an east aspect. The top 50cm is made up mostly of several generations of previous wind slabs which should be approached with caution. We were getting easy compression tests down 15cm, moderate compression tests down 40cm and hard compression tests down 46cm , all on different generations of wind slab. The milder temperatures over the last 10 days has warmed up the snowpack and is becoming generally a well settled snowpack. The basal layer (November crust/ facet combo) which is about 40cm off the ground is still a concern as large depth hoar was pouring out of our pit wall. A wind slab triggered near the surface has the potential to wake up the basal layer, producing a very large avalanche.

We dug another pit in a sheltered area on a north aspect at 2200m and found the Dec 30 surface hoar to be down 40cm and not as reactive as two weeks ago.

Terrain and Travel

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.