Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bow Valley, Highwood Pass, Kananaskis, North 40, Spray - KLakes.
Watch for pocket of deep persistent slabs in Alpine terrain along ridgelines and in steep crossloaded features.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new observed in the last couple of days.
Snowpack Summary
There was a trace of a trace on Wednesday...
Strong winds have stripped all available snow and left hard slabs and scoured to ground where exposed. The early December rain crust is still present down about 30 cm but is starting to show signs of breaking down in valley bottom areas. Weak basal facets and depth hoar complete the lower snowpack. Overall conditions more closely resemble early November as opposed to Early January!
Weather Summary
Daytime highs around -6C with moderate winds out of the SW. There will be a trace of new snow over the next 24hrs!
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
- Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
- In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
This problem will be with us all season. At higher elevations there is more concern that these deep persistent weak layers could be human triggerable.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3