Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 17 – 18, 2021Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 6 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low

Highlights

Wind slabs are still dominating our region. Ski quality isn't the best ever, but hey, it's a Pandemic. Just the fact that we get to go skiing is a great thing! Poor turns are better than no turns!

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    Consistent, warm temps are helping the slabs to bond with the underlying layers. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Temperatures will hover around -8 tomorrow until the late afternoon. Beyond that it will cool off to -18 or so by midnight. As the temperatures fall, the winds will calm (yes, you read that right) at all elevations. As for snow, don't hold your breath. There may be a few flurries, but the re-set we're all craving is a long way off.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing was seen today. 

Snowpack Summary

I wish I had better news, but the widespread wind effected snow is still the main feature of our snowpack. A profile near Purple Knob had a well settled mid pack with the Nov 5th down 165cm and a surprising lack of depth hoar or facets near it. It seems the warm snowpack temperatures have kept the bottom layers from "rotting" out and becoming weak. 

Regions covered