Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Apr 15 – 16, 2018Alberta Parks
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Start early and finish early.  Solar radiation will impact the recent storm snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3
    Cornices are large and looming and become weak with daytime heating. New snow on Saturday combined with warm temps on Sunday may make these features prone to collapse.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

Confidence

-

Weather Forecast

15cm of snow is forecast by Monday afternoon with mostly cloudy skies. Winds are expected to be westerly at 15-20km/h. Freezing level will be 2200m with an alpine temperature of -3c.

Avalanche Summary

Several avalanches were observed today on all aspects. One size 2 avalanche was triggered on the interface with the recent snow 40cm down.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 40cm of storm snow in the last 48hr is settling rapidly. This storm snow was settling into a soft slab at tree line and above and overlies a melt/freeze on solar aspects.. Moist snow was encountered at 2100m.  Even with a cloudy day forecast for Monday, expect the solar radiation to come through and affect the snow on solar aspects.  Carefully evaluate the slopes at tree line and in the alpine for slabs.  If the solar radiation is strong or if the sun poles out, expect loose wet avalanches to occur.

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