Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 1st, 2019–Dec 2nd, 2019

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Kananaskis.

Early season conditions; be careful for rocks, logs and branches that are just under the snow surface.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Monday will be mostly cloudy with possibility of light flurries. Winds will be strong from the West with temperatures hovering around -10c

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed.

Snowpack Summary

The upper snow pack has started to facet out with the colder temperatures from last week. Some sluffing from skier traffic will likely occur on steep or unsupported terrain.The main concern is for thin wind slabs along ridge lines from last week's winds and the buried wind slabs down 30-40cm. The October and November crusts are closer to ground but we haven't seen any avalanche activity on this layer just yet. The valley bottom is still challenging due to the lack of snow. It will be a different ball game when we get more snow.

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.