Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Nov 18 – 19, 2016Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
No rating
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Highlights

Getting to where the skiing is can be a bit rugged but there were a few nice turns found on friday (emphasis few).  Ice climbers pay attention as a few loose dry slides were observed running down over routes.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Use caution around ridgelines and in gullied terrain. Slabs do not likely extend far downslope but if something was to start it would be a rough ride. Ice climbers watch for small slabs funnelling down onto a route.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

A small amount of new snow may fall over the weekend with generally cloudy skies expected.  Winds will increase into the moderate range out of the SW so there may be a bit of new windslabs building in Alpine areas.  Temperature will remain seasonal.

Avalanche Summary

Numerous loose dry avalanches up to sz 1 running on top of the Nov 12th crust.  No new slab avalanches were noted.

Snowpack Summary

20-25cm of low density snow is overlying the Nov 12th temperature crust.  Isolated windslabs are being observed in Alpine areas along ridgelines but these problems do not extend far downslope.  The snowpack at 2200m is anywhere from 50-60cm but it RAPIDLY tapers with elevation and is still pretty boney in the trees.  The Nov Crust is something that will be with us for the whole season likely so get used to us talking about it.

Regions covered