Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 26 – 27, 2015Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Tuesday should be a cooler day, but it is difficult to say how much the snowpack will re-freeze and stabilize. Keep a close eye on temperatures and solar radiation. Also, be mindful of touchy wind slabs at higher elevations. Ski quality is poor.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Wind slabs are prevalent in Alpine and Treeline areas with a variety of slab thicknesses. Human triggering is a real possibility and caution is advised in lee and cross-loaded terrain.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Tuesday is expected to be much cooler, but solar triggered slides are still possible. Keep an eye on the temperatures and radiation and how this relates to the terrain around you. Ice climbers should avoid gully features on solar aspects.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–4
    Recent avalanches have stepped down to the December crust or the November weak basal layers.

Confidence

Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain

Weather Forecast

Tuesday will be a cooler day with Alpine temperatures near -3 celsius and freezing levels at 1800m. Winds will be strong out of the west and no precipitation is expected. Wednesday will see a further cooling trend and the winds will shift to the NW.

Avalanche Summary

Several solar and/or heat induced loose wet avalanches were observed today up to size 2.0. These occurred on all aspects except true North.

Snowpack Summary

The snowpack is settling as temperatures remained above freezing at Treeline elevations overnight. The snowpack is isothermal at lower elevations and in shallow snowpack regions, and is not supportive to travel. Wind slabs are prevalent in the Alpine and upper Treeline elevations due to previous extreme SW to W winds.

Regions covered