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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 8th, 2022–Mar 9th, 2022

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Lots of good skiing to be found, but continue to watch for pockets of wind slab at upper elevations. Buried sun crusts on solar aspects could be reactive in steeper terrain, especially during periods of intense solar radiation.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Wednesday will be mostly sunny and cold with temps ranging from -28 to -15. Winds will be generally light from the north.

Thursday is mainly cloudy and slightly warmer, with a slight chance of flurries in the afternoon.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed on Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15cm of new snow in the past 24 hours brings recent storm snow totals to between 40 and 60cm. The recent snow remains low density with isolated wind effect in wind prone areas of the Alpine. On solar aspects a series of buried sun crusts are interspersed with soft snow, which is tending to make the ski quality poor on solar aspects. Forecasters continue to monitor the Feb 19th interface (sun crust on solar aspects and hard slab everywhere else) now buried 40 to 60cm. This interface has produced a small amount of natural avalanches in past days, and may become more of a problem as the density of the recent storm snow increases (due to warming, wind and/or settlement). Take the time to dig down frequently and evaluate the bond at this interface.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

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.