Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 23 – 24, 2020Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 7 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

Conservative terrain that avoids any hazard. For the good of us all, be thinking about this as you travel. Or choose not to travel and wait for next year. The current health care system is under enough stress due to COVID19 pandemic don't add to the problems/workload.  

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Some buried wind slabs exist in the alpine. Digging will be key.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1.5–3.5

    The deep persistent layer is still a concern, especially in shallow snowpack areas. A large cornice trigger could also be enough to weak up this layer.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Tuesday is looking to be a cloudy day with light flurries falling. Temperatures will be around -5 at treeline during the day under cloudy skies. Convective flurries seem to be the theme of the week. 

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed but observations were limited. 

Snowpack Summary

5cm of new snow fell via convective flurries throughout the day under generally light winds. This is now up to 10cm of new snow that has fallen on top of crusts on solar aspects and on dry powder snow on polar aspects. The mid pack is well settled and concerns still exist with basal crusts. Buried windslabs can be expected at ridge lines and remember that human triggering is still possible in steeper terrain...Which you should not be in because we are asking you to dial it back.  

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid convexities, steep unsupported terrain and rocky outcroppings.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a deep persistent slab.
  • Avoid areas with a thin or variable snowpack.

Regions covered