Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Kananaskis.
Confidence
Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Weather Forecast
Tuesday and Wednesday will remain primarily windy (up to 90km/h from the SW), with daytime high temperatures near -7. When it comes to snowfall amounts there is significant disagreement between the models, with the most "optimistic" calling for 25cm by Wednesday evening.
Avalanche Summary
Natural avalanche activity has tapered off, but recent slides up to size 2.5 have been observed in the Alpine and Treeline elevation bands. Keep in mind that human triggering is still likely.
Snowpack Summary
A few convective flurries through the day on Monday put a light dusting on the surface. Recent storm snow has settled to an average of 40cm at Treeline. Widespread wind slabs are present in Alpine and Treeline terrain in lee and cross-loaded features. There has been lots of cracking, whumpfing, and skier triggered avalanches on the Dec 10th surface hoar and facet interface down 40-50cm. In addition, recent natural avalanches have stepped down to the October crust with fracture depths over 1 metre in some cases.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible - Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5
Deep Persistent Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3