Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 29th, 2024–Nov 30th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Great skiing still exists on polar smooth features. Remember there is only 50-70cm on average at treeline, so take it easy and enjoy the good travel and nice skiing where it exists. Snow transport was observed today from West winds, so wind slabs will start showing up as the wind continues.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new today,

Snowpack Summary

Changes are happening. Between wind and temperature changes we are seeing the addition of windslabs in the alpine and upper treeline and a general weakening of the lower elevation snowpack. A bit of a contrast for sure, but the different snow character is easy to see and predict. Valley bottom up to about 2300-2400 is weak with little structure in untouched areas. The Oct crust is still evident, however it is slowly breaking down. Above the 23-2400m mark wind transport is the name of the game. Windslabs, sastrugi and exposed rock are in plentiful supply.

Weather Summary

Weather, there isn't much to talk about right now with the weather. Saturday will be mainly cloudy with flurries throughout the day, no real accumulation is expected. Ridge top winds at 45km/h out of the West with day time highs of -8.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.