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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 2nd, 2021–Apr 3rd, 2021

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
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.

The north aspects deliver for dry snow, but not soft snow. Widespread wind effect is very apparent and makes for some tricky, unpredictable, yet entertaining skiing. 

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

It looks like tomorrow will have a little more sun than Friday. Expect the solar input to be strong, especially with a thin layer of cloud. Winds will be light from the SW and maybe there will be a few flurries. Fingers crossed. The daytime high will be around zero, with a freezing level of 2200m. I wish I had better news for later in the week, but the storm I mentioned yesterday has been delayed, and it appears to be weaker than expected. 

Avalanche Summary

We witnessed one small powder cloud on the south side of Hero's knob today at 10am. Not sure where it initiated, but it would have been alpine in nature. No slab visible.

Snowpack Summary

Valley bottom snow was moist by 11am. Treeline hung in there and still had dry snow as of 1200. It likely stayed that way due to cloud cover. The most notable snowpack feature is the widespread wind effect. Any open area at treeline and up has a 5-10cm thick windslab. There are sheltered areas at treeline holding good snow, but they are small and isolated. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid steep convex slopes.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet

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.