Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 11th, 2023–Nov 13th, 2023

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

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

There was a serious avalanche incident today involving ice climbers in the Ranger Creek area. Avoid exposure to all alpine avalanche terrain until this wind induced avalanche cycle goes away. The Ranger Creek drainage will be closed tomorrow.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Numerous avalanches occurred today as the snow and winds peaked in the afternoon. Many slopes avalanched, then quickly reloaded and slid again.

There was a significant avalanche incident today involving ice climbers on the Spray Road. Details are limited right now. It involved a sz2 storm snow avalanche in alpine terrain. Avoid exposure to avalanche terrain.

Snowpack Summary

We now have a persistent weak layer (Nov 10) that is down about 20-40cm in the alpine, 10cm at treeline. Very little is known about this Nov 10th temperature crust, but it appears to spotty aspect wise, very reactive(slippery) and estimated to be up to 2400m. Windslabs built very quickly today with lots of visible wind transport. Overall snowpack depth and character is largely unknown as it early season. From what we have seen and heard total snow depth varies from 10-60cm. Coverage is very inconsistent with LOTS of hidden hazards.

Weather Summary

Morning lows of -11, temperatures rising to -4 by noon. The winds will continue to be an important factor to consider. They'll be light from the SW, however they'll also be from the SW, but gusting into the moderate range. Maybe a few flurries in the morning, but generally clearing skies as the day goes on.

Monday

Flurries will bring another 6-10cm, with increasing winds.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.