Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Mar 11 – 12, 2018Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

The freezing levels are rising and the overnight lows are climbing. This spring heat will quickly increase the avalanche hazard.Avoid large slopes with solar aspects.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5
    Lots of wind slabs in the Alpine and along ridgelines at Treeline. Steep and unsupported terrain should be considered suspect.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Steep, rocky terrain will hold the sun's heat and cause loose wet avalanches to become a concern by midday. They could be a problem in themselves, but they could also act as a trigger for slabs.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    2–3.5
    Cornices could start to fail if they see a lot of sun. These kinds of large triggers could cause the deep layers to fail.

Snowpack Summary

Extensive wind slabs in the alpine that reach down to isolated areas of treeline and cross loaded features. Moist snow on steep solar aspects and on all aspects up to 2200m that are not shaded. Good skiing was still found on shady aspects in the trees.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Monday is forecast for another sunny day with the freezing level going up to 2400m. Winds are suppose to be light out of the West. Tuesday and Wednesday will see more warming and the freezing level should reach 2900m.

Avalanche Summary

Several loose wet avalanches up to 1.5 on solar aspects.Several slabs released at all elevations on NE to SE aspects up to size 2

Regions covered