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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 28th, 2021–Dec 29th, 2021

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

The extreme cold continues. Even a minor issue can become a major emergency with these temperatures.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Another cold night with temps near -33, which will "warm" to -23 on Wednesday under mostly sunny skies. A trace of new snow will fall Tuesday night. Winds will be light to moderate from the W and NW.

Avalanche Summary

Nothin new observed or reported today.

Snowpack Summary

The prolonged cold is faceting the surface snow as well as above and below the Dec crust layer down 70cm on average. While this crust layer has not been active recently, snowpack tests indicate it is a layer to watch. A serious skier-triggered avalanche in the West Kootenays on this layer reminds us to be constantly evaluating this layer (check out the MIN for more details). Both surface and buried wind slabs are present in lee and cross-loaded terrain in the Alpine and at Treeline, and these slabs remain the principal concern in our region.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected 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.