Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 23 – 24, 2014Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 13 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Sporadic avalanche activity (both natural and human-triggered) has occurred over the past few days and forecasters have low confidence in the snowpack. Conservative route selection is strongly recommended. This is NOT the time to ski the big line.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Wind slabs between 20 and 40cm thick are found in lee and cross-loaded features in the Alpine and open areas at Treeline. Isolated avalanche activity has recently occurred on this layer and human triggering is a concern in steep terrain.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–5
    The Feb 10th layer down 80 to 120cm in the snowpack remains a concern. Sporadic avalanche activity on this layer continues to occur on all aspects. This layer will be a problem for some time to come.

Confidence

Fair

Weather Forecast

Cloudy conditions are expected through the week with light to moderate snowfall possible Tuesday nd Wednesday. Monday should see temperatures near -7 degrees in the Alpine and generally light winds.

Avalanche Summary

Visibility was limited today, but the skier-triggered avalanche from yesterday on Mt Engadine was evaluated from a distance. We still have limited information on this slide, but it occurred on a W to NW aspect at Treeline and was a size 2.5 that took out the entire width of the normal avalanche path and flowed to at least 3/4 of the run-out.

Snowpack Summary

Storm snow from the past week has settled to an average of 30cm at treeline. Sun crusts are found on solar aspects. Recently formed wind slabs are evident in the Alpine and open areas at Treeline, but so far these seem relatively well bonded to the previous surfaces. The Feb 10th layer remains a concern and is found buried 80 to 120cm. This layer continues to give variable results in snowpack tests and has caused sporadic natural avalanche activity over the past week.

Regions covered