Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 30th, 2017–Dec 1st, 2017

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

Regions

South Rockies.

The snowpack remains highly variable with few reports from the region. Reactive wind slabs may exist at upper elevations, as well as several deeper weak layers buried in the snowpack. Use a conservative approach and terrain selection.

Confidence

Low - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Friday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. Moderate to strong ridgetop winds from the West. Alpine temperatures near -10 and freezing levels near 1000 m. Saturday: Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. Moderate ridgetop winds from the South West. Alpine temperatures near -8 and freezing levels 1100 m.Sunday: Cloudy with 3-7 cm of new snow. Light ridgetop winds from the North West. Local snow fall amounts may be enhanced in the southern part of the region. Check out the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanches have been reported from the region. On November 29th a slab avalanche was reported from Kananaskis Country from Mt. Lawson and was possibly triggered by cornice fall. Please post your observations to the Mountain Information Network

Snowpack Summary

There remains to be very little information regarding snowpack structure within the region. I suspect that the upper snowpack consists of 10-50 cm of recent storm snow above a series of crusts, the most recent being the November 26 crust which is likely to be found up to 2550m elevation and approximately 2-5 cm thick. Below this is a thin layer of low density snow then the November 23 crust which also suspected to exist near 2450 m elevation. A third crust from late October (October 31) can likely be found down approximately 40-60 cm. This October 31 "crust/facet combo" (sugary snow) has been identified as a failure layer in recent avalanche reports from the Kananaskis area to the north will likely remain a concern for northern regions of the South Rockies. Finally the early season early October rain crust lies near the base of the snowpack bringing the average snowpack depths at upper elevations 60-110 cm. Take into account that the snowpack is highly variable in regards to aspect and elevation.

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.