The skiing is good right now, but be diligent when evaluating the avalanche problems. Increased northerly winds on Tuesday will create additional wind slabs.
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure is building over the region bringing a cool northerly flow. Tuesday in Kananaskis will be a mix of sun and cloud with a high of -6 C. Ridge-top winds will be from the NW at 30-50 km/h. There is no precipitation in the forecast for at least the next 5 days.
Avalanche Summary
A few slab avalanches up to size 2.5 were observed yesterday on steep N and E aspects in the Alpine. No new avalanches were observed today.
Snowpack Summary
Pockets of wind slab ranging from 30 to 50cm thick are present in Alpine areas in lee and cross-loaded features. At the moment these slabs do not extend far down-slope, but this will change as winds increase. The November crust layers are buried between 50 and 70cm at Treeline and do not appear particularly active, but are certainly worth keeping an eye on. The basal layers of the snowpack are made up of a mix of crusts from October and facets. These layers continue to show moderate to hard results in snowpack stability tests.
Problems
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.
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.