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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 28th, 2017–Nov 29th, 2017

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

Our snowpack seems to get more and more complex as each day passes. Its a good idea to dig and familiarize yourself with conditions before venturing into avalanche terrain.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Winds will continue overnight and tomorrow. They will be westerly and about 65km/hr at ridge top. Only a few flurries are expected with no real accumulation. Temperatures will hover around -12 degrees.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new today.

Snowpack Summary

Snow profiles in the Highwood area today offered a good glimpse of our current snowpack. At treeline, snow depth is anywhere from 60-100cm deep. The surface snow character is dependant on wind exposure. Some areas are a softer slab, while others are quite hard (kicking to get a ski edge in) and often hollow sounding. The recent rain crusts (Nov 26 & Nov 23) are down 40cm on average and are 2 distinct layers. These 2 crusts are very obvious and well bonded for the time being. We'll have our hands full when that changes...The Oct 31crust is breaking down and variable in its character. Some places it is intact and others it has broken down/compressed and become part of the "base" snowpack. In both instances, it is still considered a weak layer and failing in tests after moderate loads. In the alpine it is very similar, but the depths are proportionally deeper. The surface wind slabs are concerning as they are failing under lighter loads (CT easy SC). Windloading in ongoing, so expect these numbers to change rapidly if the wind continues.

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.