Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 20th, 2021–Dec 21st, 2021

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Great skiing right now, but it's still worth taking the time to evaluate steeper terrain in the Alpine. On-going wind loading in the Alpine could lead to an increased likelihood of human-triggering.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Tuesday should be mainly sunny with a cold start that will warm to -12. Winds will be moderate from the west. Wednesday will bring light flurries with heavier snow beginning early Thursday.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new today, but there is a report on the MIN of a skier triggered size 2 wind slab in the Hero's Knob area on Sunday.

Snowpack Summary

With the very cold temperatures last night the surface snow is staying low density and there has been minimal recent wind effect up to at least 2500m. Moderate wind transport today at mountaintop is scouring some high alpine slopes while creating fresh wind slabs in the immediate lee of ridge features. However, so far these wind slabs do not extend far down-slope. The mid-pack and basal layers remain strong with a number of frozen crusts. Forecasters are monitoring the Dec 1st crust (down 70cm on average) as faceting has been observed around the crust, but so far this layer has been inactive.

Terrain and Travel

  • Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.

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.