Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Feb 12 – 13, 2013Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 14 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Up to 5cm of new snow overnight with winds spiking at 125km/h out of the West. Watch for fresh wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded features, and be aware of the potential for higher danger levels if more snow arrives than is forecasted.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–4
    Between 0 and 20cm of recent snow currently overlies a hard wind slab in alpine and treeline areas. Shallow snowpack areas and steep convex features are potential triggering spots for this buried wind slab.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Sluffing from steep terrain could occur on Wednesday if the forecasted winds and snow arrive. Be cautious in and below steep lee and cross-loaded terrain, especially below ridge-crests.

Confidence

Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Weather Forecast

Winds will spike at 125km/h out of the west overnight. As much as 5cm of snow is expected by Wednesday morning with temperatures cooling to -15 degrees.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new.

Snowpack Summary

Trace amount of snow overnight. 0 to 20cm of relatively low density snow sits on a very hard wind slab. A hard compression test was observed which failed beneath the dense wind slab. Snowpack at lower elevations is weak and facetted.

Regions covered