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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2022–Mar 10th, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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 wind came along and wrecked the party. Fresh and reactive wind slabs are found at upper elevations, and the buried crust now has a more significant load over top. Time to dial back the objectives and take a more conservative approach.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Thursday will be a mix of sun cloud with a cold start (near -25) that will warm to -10 by midday. The March sun will pack a punch on solar aspects. Winds will be moderate to strong from the NW. No snowfall is expected.

Friday and Saturday are both calling for light flurries.

Avalanche Summary

One size 2.0 naturally triggered loose dry occurred on a very steep east aspect in the Alpine. With the continued wind loading, natural slab avalanches are expected in Alpine terrain, but so far no observations of this.

Our neighbours in Kootenay reported a size 3.5 skier accidental slab avalanche on Tuesday. This slide occurred on the buried sun crust.

Snowpack Summary

Unfortunately the winds were moderate on Wednesday from a variety of directions. This has created reactive wind slabs on all aspects in the Alpine. These fresh wind slabs could step down to the Feb 19 interface (sun crust or hard slab) buried 40 to 60cm which could result in larger avalanches. Solar aspects have numerous vintages of sun crust interspersed with soft snow, which is making travel on these aspects less than ideal.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be aware of highly variable recent wind loading patterns.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.

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.