Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2021–Feb 1st, 2021

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Near continuous flurries are adding to our snowpack depth. Ski quality is quite good at the moment, but be sure to keep yourself in tune with the snowpack as a whole. It's easy to forget the deeper layers when the skiing is good.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Temperatures are going to steadily creep up to almost 0 degrees by tomorrow afternoon. Even the overnight period will see them rise. On the Spray it won't cause too much of an issue, but in the Bow Valley/Highway 40/Ghost area, expect a dramatic warming trend. The winds will be from the SSW and gusty. As for snow, it looks like there will be some more flurries rolling through. Amounts will vary, but if is like today was, expect another 5-10cm. Tuesday will see another pulse of snow, but we're aren't sure just how much yet.

Avalanche Summary

Many groups in the Black Prince area noted numerous loose dry avalanches out of steep, alpine cliff terrain. The largest was sz2. It was unclear if these triggered slabs below.

Snowpack Summary

We spent the day in the Black Prince area today and found the near continuous flurries kept adding to the snowpack. Down low had about 20cm from the last few days, and higher had about 35cm. While that drainage is fairly sheltered, we did note that alpine winds were blowing snow around and creating new windslabs in the alpine. It's safe to expect the regional alpine zone will have reactive windslabs on any lee (east) aspect. We may also have wind "pressing" slabs on the windward sides as well. This new snow sits on old surfaces which generally aren't a problem. The one exception to this is a narrow elevation band at treeline where the old slabs started to facet (weaken) during last week's cold snap. Steep convex rolls deserve some caution as the buried windslabs may be triggerable.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Cornices may release remotely when approached.
  • Avoid exposure to slopes that have cornices overhead.

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.