Kananaskis

Tuesday will finally bring a change. Temperatures will moderate, winds will shift to the SW in the afternoon and light flurries will begin. Approach the alpine with the possibility that wind slabs are present. Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas.

One naturally triggered size 1.0 slab avalanche was observed in a steep SE facing gully feature at approximately 2300m. This slab was 25cm deep and about 25m wide. The likely trigger was incremental wind loading. Otherwise only a couple of very small sluffs were observed in very steep Alpine terrain.

With the cold weather, the forecasters have only been able to make observations from the road for the last few days. Surface faceting is on-going with the cold temps. Last week's snow came with some wind but the wind slabs have likely broken down some with the cold temperatures. A spotty surface hoar layer down 30-40cm is worth investigating. The December 5th melt/freeze crust is down approximately 50-70cm down and is an important layer to track, especially in shallower snowpack areas. The basal facets will be with us for the season and are mostly a concern for triggering in shallow snowpack areas. Expect good skiing in sheltered areas.

A reprieve from the cold is finally coming! It will be "only" -23C overnight, and then a balmy -11C for a high on Tuesday. Somewhere around noon the winds will shift from the NW to the SW, bringing with it a few flurries. Up to 5cm will fall Tuesday afternoon/evening with another 10cm through the day on Wednesday.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
• In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.