Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 16th, 2024–Feb 17th, 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.

Beautiful days and good skiing are turning the season around for us. Gullies and couloirs will pose a sluffing/loose dry hazard given the cold temperatures and lack of wind.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Sluffing continues in very steep terrain.

Snowpack Summary

If it wasn't for the low snow, the lack of wind would make you think we were somewhere other than K-Country. We are still seeing little to no wind affect at almost all elevations. the one exception would be high alpine (2500m+) ridges where isolated slabs will exist in the immediate lee. At treeline and low alpine elevations there's 20-25cm's of nice, facetted snow resting on top of the Feb crust. The crust itself is generally supportive, but in the odd place at treeline its breakable and sometimes challenging to ski. From an avalanche perspective, the crust isn't posing a problem other than allowing the surface snow to sluff in very steep terrain. The deeper layers aren't changing much. They are still a mix of facets and the older crust from earlier in the year.

Weather Summary

The roller coaster temperature swings will continue for a couple of days yet. Tonight's low will be -20 with a mid afternoon high of -3 for Saturday. Skies will remain clear and winds will be very light from the SW. A fine February forecast!

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid areas with a thin or variable snowpack.
Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.