Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 6 – 7, 2019Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

It is still a touchy snowpack. Human triggering is primed at Treeline and above.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2.5
    Winds were moderate to strong today and actively building wind slabs at Treeline and above. These slabs feel quite sensitive to human triggering.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–3
    The new snow load had not improved this layer. It is as delicate as ever. Do not underestimate its avalanche potential! Avoid thin spaces.

Snowpack Summary

Recent storm snow has settled to 25 to 30cm at Treeline. Wind slabs forming in the Alpine and soft slabs in open areas at Treeline and below. Test profile at 2300m on a North aspect today produced easy shears at the storm snow interface, moderate shears down 40cm at the Dec 30th facet interface, and moderate/hard shears on the basal facets down 100cm.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Light flurries are possible on Monday, but expect some sun as well. Temperatures in the alpine will reach a high of -12 Celsius with ridge-top winds in the moderate to strong range from the SW. More snow is expected in the region on Wednesday.

Avalanche Summary

Ski cutting on steep North aspects just below treeline produced very small avalanches, but the snowpack in these features generally lacked the surface density to produce slabs. No new naturally triggered avalanches were observed today but visibility was fairly limited.

Regions covered