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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 15th, 2022–Jan 16th, 2022

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Although the danger rating has dropped, there is a lot of uncertainty with the snow pack right now. Most of our neighbors have seen some natural or skier triggered activity on the Dec 2nd crust/facet combo in the past week.

Confidence

Low -

Weather Forecast

Slightly cooler temps and small amounts of precip is the change over the next several days. The winds will continue to ravage the landscape. 

Avalanche Summary

Teams out on the spray and highway 40 noticed no new avalanches. However moderate to strong snow transport was observed in the alpine and even down in to tree line elevations

Snowpack Summary

The wind has done lots of damage this week. What was once well covered and holding good snow is now wind blown and back down to the rocks. Even with the warm temperatures, it seems the surface snow is staying dry. Time will tell how the new snow bonds to this old snow surface

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of a persistent slab.

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.