Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 18 – 19, 2017Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Avalanche control is planned for HWY 742 between 10:30 and 14:30. Expect delays.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    2–3
    These still exist from previous storms and are buried under 30-40cm of newer snow. They will be especially hard to identify with the new snow, but are still quite triggerable.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Warm temps, wind and new snow are the perfect mix for storm slab development. Expect to find these in lee and cross-loaded features in the Alpine and just into Treeline.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–4
    Any avalanche initiated in the upper snowpack will likely step down to the basal layers resulting in a very large avalanche. New snow and wind will add a significant and rapid load to this layer. This is a scary layer with huge destructive power!

Confidence

Moderate - Freezing levels are uncertain

Weather Forecast

Up to 20cm of new snow is possible over the next 12 hours, with rain at lower elevations until temperatures cool late this evening. Sunday will be a mix of sun and cloud with much cooler temperatures and westerly winds gusting to 65 km/h.

Avalanche Summary

Visibility was very limited today. An avalanche cycle continues, with recent slab avalanches up to size 3.5 occurring on all aspects at all elevations. All of the avalanches are stepping down to the basal weak layers. Crowns are up to 1.5m deep and propagations have been wide. Many avalanches have reached or exceeded their historic run-outs, in some cases destroying significant tracts of mature forest.

Snowpack Summary

Rain fell through the day up to an elevation of 2200m. The snowpack is isothermal at lower elevations. Wind slabs are present in Alpine and Treeline areas on all aspects but localized additional loading has been noted on lee features. Cornices are large and sagging. Extensive avalanche activity has occurred over the last few days, that has all stepped down to the basal weaknesses resulting in large destructive avalanches.

Regions covered