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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 25th, 2022–Jan 26th, 2022

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.

Lots of wind slabs in the alpine and at tree line. The best snow can be found in sheltered areas in the trees.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Still no snow on the horizon but it is still important to dream....

Wednesday: Mix of sun and cloud. No snow. High of -10c. Moderate NW winds

Thursday: Sunny with cloudy periods. No snow. High of -4c and a Low of -10c. Moderate West winds.

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches were observed today.

Snowpack Summary

Extensive wind slabs, hard wind slabs, buried wind slabs, and sastrugi(wavy ridges of snow formed by the wind) dominate the alpine and open areas of tree line. These hard wind slabs can be tricky to evaluate because they have the potential to propagate but gives someone the impression underfoot that the base is solid. Take the time to dig and evaluate before committing to larger slopes.

The forecasters dug a profile at 2100m today just SE of Hero's Knob to investigate the December rain crust. It was found to be breaking down and did not produce any test results on it. For the time being, this layer is not on our radar but will surely show up again later on in the season.

Terrain and Travel

  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • 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.