Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 14th, 2024–Dec 15th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kananaskis, Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, North 40, Spray - KLakes.

Not much change happening right now. Whatever your mode of travel is, expect any off trail travel to be challenging. Sheltered areas near the divide may have more recent snow than road side, but it will take some effort to get there.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed.

Snowpack Summary

Flurries have helped psychologically, but haven't done much in a practical sense. Very little change to our snowpack. The alpine is dominated by windslabs of varying densities. Crossloaded gullies are of concern as winds have been a huge factor in recent weather patterns. Depths are around the 75cm mark at 2300m with the Oct crust still apparent near the bottom. Valley bottom depths are 43cm, with the deeper crusts still apparent in some areas.

Weather Summary

Temperatures will fall ever so slightly tomorrow. It will start around -8 and finish around -10. Southwesterly winds will be mostly light, but expect gusty conditions, with ridge winds being in the 30km/hr range. The flurries will continue, and may add up to a few centimeters by late afternoon.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Avoid steep terrain that is rocky and thin.

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.