Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Unlikely - Possible
- Size
- 1–3
Wind slabs dominate the Alpine and they continue to grow in thickness and density. Human triggering is possible in steep and unsupported terrain.
Avalanche forecast
View on mapKananaskis
Jan 5 – 6, 2016Alberta Parks
Archived · expired 11 years ago
Avalanche danger
Thu
Fri
Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Highlights
With only a few centimeters of snow expected Thursday, little change is expected in the hazard levels. Wind slabs can still be triggered in steep/unsupported terrain, especially where the snowpack is shallow.
Avalanche problems
Confidence
High
Weather Forecast
Wednesday will be cloudy with sunny periods with no precipitation. Alpine temperatures should reach a high of -3 °C with very light ridge-top winds. Freezing levels will climb to 1900 metres. Thursday will be significantly cooler with up to 5cm of new snow possible.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new in the past 48hrs.
Snowpack Summary
Very little change in the snowpack over the last few days. Cool temperatures at lower elevations have led to a fair amount of facetting. Some surface hoar growth has occurred in sheltered areas below 2000m. Sun crusts of various thicknesses are found on steep solar aspects. Alpine areas continue to exhibit widespread wind slab conditions. These wind slabs did produce a few very small slab avalanches over the weekend that were triggered by skiers/riders in steep, unsupported and or shallow snowpack terrain.