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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 16th, 2021–Jan 17th, 2021

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

The care free days of boot top powder are not with us at the moment. While some sheltered areas have a bit of loose snow, most areas are wind effected and challenging skiing/riding. Give steep, convex features a miss for a few days here.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

A Ho-Hum day for tomorrow. A little cloud, a little wind and very, very little snow. Overnight lows of -8 with a daytime high of -5C. Light SW winds, and maybe a few flurries to round out the day. No need for the big boards tomorrow. Although they would help you stay on top of the wind slab, but that's a story for the snowpack discussion.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new today.

Snowpack Summary

Wind slabs as far as the eye can see. Seriously, that's the big story right now. It seems all elevations and aspects have a layer of new, hard AND breakable windslab right now. The good news is that the mid pack is well settled with only a few layers of concern. The concerning layers are variable in their location, and tend to be the layers of windslabs reacting, not the deeper layers. We found "drummy" snow today in the Murray Moraines area today and suspect that the entire range has that snow quality right now. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.