Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Jan 3rd, 2018 3:00PM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is moderate, and the below treeline rating is low. Known problems include Wind Slabs and Loose Dry.

matt.mueller, Alberta Parks

Kananaskis.

Not a lot of change with the snow despite the warmer weather. Loose surface snow, sluffing and variable wind slab in the alpine are the on the radar as concerns.

Summary

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

The warming trend will continue through tonight and into tomorrow. Overnight lows will be -2 at 2200m. Tomorrow it will hit 0° at 1600m with a mix of sun and cloud. No snow and only light winds are expected.

Avalanche Summary

A few loose dry avalanches may have come down in the last 24 hours, but it is hard to say exactly how old these are. Regardless, most of them were small and in steep alpine terrain. Some minor pinwheeling was noted today.

Snowpack Summary

Surface hoar growth continues with the cold, clear and calm weather. It is not clear yet how widespread this latest surface hoar is. The snowpack has lost a lot of its strength through facetting, especially near the surface. So far none of the crusts or storm interface from last week have woken up, and appear to be hanging in there for the time being. Having said that, it does feel like the the deeper layers could wake up with even a slight change in conditions.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind slab conditions are highly variable, including hard slabs, soft slabs and buried slabs. Watch for human-triggerable slabs in steep terrain on all aspects, and take the time to evaluate localized conditions.

Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: Alpine.

Likelihood

Unlikely - Possible

Expected Size

1 - 2

Loose Dry

Be cautious in steeper terrain. Increased solar input and warm temperatures will lead to more frequent sluffing on solar aspects. Ice climbers need to be aware of overhead terrain and how it impacts their route.

Avoid ice climbs that are exposed to steep rocky terrain on solar aspects.Be cautious of sluffing in steep terrain.Minimize exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.

Elevations: All elevations.

Likelihood

Possible - Likely

Expected Size

1 - 2

Valid until: Jan 4th, 2018 2:00PM