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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 2nd, 2017–Dec 3rd, 2017

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

15-20cm of recent snow is available for transport so keep an eye on localized winds making the wind slabs more reactive on Sunday.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Winds are forecast to be calm for majority on Sunday and increasing into the moderate range out of the SW later in the day.  No new precip is expected but we said that yesterday and we got 10-20cm! 

Avalanche Summary

Loose dry sluffing out of steep unskiable terrain up to sz 1.  No new slab avalanche activity was noted.

Snowpack Summary

15-20cm of recent snow over the past 36hrs with only light winds at the upper elevations.  Windslabs continue to build in the upper snowpack along immediate lees as well as gullied terrain and there have also been a number of loose dry avalanches up to sz 1.  The nov crust is now down 60-80cm and although we are seeing no results on this layer, we are closely watching it for future development.  The oct crust is now down close to 100-120cm and is producing moderate to hard sheers in a weaker facet layer below the crust.  Lots of snow is currently available for transport so winds will be critical to watch over the next 24hrs.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.