Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 18 – 20, 2019Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

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

Widespread wind slabs in the alpine. Evaluate alpine terrain carefully as hard wind slabs can propagate into avalanches.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Another windy day forecast for Thursday with strong westerlies. Temperature in the alpine will hover around -10c along with a few flurries starting later in the day. Weather models are indicating upwards of 30+cm of snow for Friday and Saturday.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed.

Snowpack Summary

The valley bottom is still challenging travel due to the minimal amounts of snow. At 2200m, there is about 100cm of snow at the most, of which the bottom 60cm is comprised of facets. . Somewhere around 2350m, the snowpack increases a bit and has a supportive midpack. This midpack was mostly formed by the numerous winds slabs that have bonded over the last few weeks. The wind has been blowing strong from the West for three days, depositing a solid wind slab on the surface in most of the alpine. Please watch the bulletin closely over the next few days as the forecast snow on Friday and Saturday will most likely increase the avalanche danger to High.

Regions covered