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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2020–Feb 21st, 2020

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

The stable weather pattern is making for very slow changes in the snow pack. Keep an eye out for crusts on the solar aspects. Other than that, sheltered and shady areas still offer some good skiing.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Clouds will build overnight tonight as temperatures fall to -14. The high alpine winds will be steady at the 70-80km/hr range. Treeline winds will be considerably less, maybe 40km/hr at the most. In both cases, the winds will be out of the south west. As for snow? Not much, a few flurries, but nothing major.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing noted today, however field observations were limited.

Snowpack Summary

Not a lot of change lately. Surface and buried windslabs remain the most significant feature of the snowpack. They could be up to 50cm thick in open areas. Most are solid and stubborn to trigger. There are pockets of either moist snow, or sun crusts on steep solar aspects. Beneath the top 50cm, its the same ol' story. A well settled midpack sitting on a weak basal layer. Snow depths are around 150-170cm at treeline.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rock outcroppings and steep convex terrain where triggering is most likely.
  • Conditions may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
  • Cornices become weak with daytime heating or solar exposure.
  • Avoid exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially 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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.