Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 24 – 25, 2015Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Fast travel conditions at the moment. Start your trip early and finish early to avoid the destabilizing effects of solar radiation and daytime heating.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–4
    Lee and cross-loaded features in the alpine are places to watch for wind slabs. They may also be found in isolated areas at treeline.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Solar radiation is intense at this time of year and even brief sunny periods can have a destabilizing effect on solar aspects.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–5
    The basal facet/depth hoar combination is alive and well. Triggering is still a concern in steep and shallow snowpack areas.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Another cloudy day is expected on Wednesday with strong west winds and freezing levels near 1900m. A warming trend is forecast for Thursday and Friday with very high freezing levels and the possibility of mixed snow/rain.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new was observed or reported today.

Snowpack Summary

2 to 4cm of new snow overnight with up to 10cm of storm snow at treeline. This storm snow overlies a variety of previous surfaces including wind slabs, sun crust and rain crust at lower elevations. Recent cool temperatures have solidified the crusts and these are now supportive to the weight of a skier. Solar radiation is intense at this time of year and even brief clear periods are causing the surface snow to become moist on solar aspects. Wind slabs are still prominent in lee and cross-loaded features in the alpine and these reach down into isolated upper treeline terrain. The basal weak layers persist and concern remains for triggering this layer in steep and shallow snowpack features.

Regions covered