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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 15th, 2012–Nov 16th, 2012

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Still early season conditions out there at this time. Watch for rocks, stumps and trees throughout the area. The only "good" skiing will be found in Alpine terrain but getting to and from these areas is challenging.

Confidence

Good

Weather Forecast

Warm temps and chinook flow to continue for another 24-48hrs. Up to 10cm of new snow is forecast for Saturday evening but forecasts still have strong SW winds during this time. Avalanche danger will be slow to change until we get the next major storm.

Avalanche Summary

No new observations over the past 24hrs.

Snowpack Summary

Little change over the past few 24hrs. Few cms of snow along the divide but the strong SW continued to redistribute this snow onto lee features building persistent slabs. Nov 6th crust is now down 30-50cm at treeline elevations. Still minimal snowcover at lower elevations.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.