Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 12 – 13, 2013Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 14 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

15cm of snow (rain at lower elevations) is possible Wednesday with extreme winds. A further 25 to 30cm are expected Thursday. As we transition to a period of higher danger levels, conservative route choices are in order.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–5
    Buried slabs (formed in February) are still reactive in isolated areas. Steep lee and cross-loaded features are the primary concern. New loading on Wed and Thurs will increase the possibility of triggering this layer.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    2–5
    With the forecasted snow and wind, storm slab development will add to the extensive soft slabs and hard slabs present in alpine and treeline areas. Natural avalanche activity is expected to increase over the next 2 days.

Confidence

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Weather Forecast

Freezing levels will rise to 1900m on Wednesday and over 2000m on Thursday as a warm storm front moves into the region. Winds are expected to be sustained at over 100km/h for the next couple of days. Wednesday could see upwards of 15cm of new snow with a further 25 to 30cm on Thursday.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new observed today.

Snowpack Summary

Sun crusts are present on solar aspects up to at least 2400m. Snowpack remains weak and facetted at lower elevations. At alpine and treeline elevations soft slabs and hard slabs are widespread and are found on all aspects. These slabs vary significantly in their sensitivity to triggers, with one size 2.0 slab triggered by solar radiation on a south aspect yesterday .

Regions covered