Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Feb 8 – 9, 2016Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
4 · High
Treeline
4 · High
Below
4 · High
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Highlights

3500 meter freezing levels on Tuesday means avalanche control on EEOR and a good day to hit the ski hill and give back country avalanche terrain a miss!

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Wind slabs are prevalent in any open features at treeline and above and will require avoidance during the warm air event on Tuesday.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    1–5
    With the forecast freezing levels, it is highly likely we will see cornice failures, particularly at alpine ridge and treeline ridge features on northeast aspects.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–5
    The January 6th facets are widespread at all elevations and aspects and will very likely become highly reactive to the extreme day time heating on Tuesday and the rest of the week.

Confidence

High

Weather Forecast

A mix of sun and cloud.  No new precipitation for Tuesday.  Alpine temperature 3.0 C.  Winds light to moderate 30km/h West.  Freezing levels up to 3500 meters.

Avalanche Summary

Very little to no avalanche activity observed today along the Smith Dorrien and Spray Lakes highway.

Snowpack Summary

Windslabs and storm slab interfaces are bonding and tightening up. The critical weakness in the snowpack at the moment is the January 6th facet layer.  In some sheltered locations at treeline and below the layer can be found 30-40 cm below the surface.  At higher elevations where the Jan 6th  is present, compression tests and other mechanical tests are widely variable.  The long and the short of it is that the layer is widespread and giving mixed results, therefore my confidence in the snowpack is low right now.  Therefore its a great time to keep terrain choices fairly straightforward and keeping exposure time to big features like head walls, big snow faces and cornices to a minimum.  The warmer air is here and will be around all week peaking on Tuesday.

Regions covered