Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Jan 14 – 16, 2025Avalanche Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 2 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

Cooler temperatures are destined to move into the region on Thursday with light snow as the front approaches. We will take any snow we can as many areas are well below average for snowpack depths.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    5-10cm thick wind slabs.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

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

    If triggered, surface wind slabs may step down and involve this layer. Avalanche sizes could be surprisingly large if this happens.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were observed.

Snowpack Summary

Winds have created some wind slabs in the alpine, especially on lee sides of mountain passes and cross loaded gullies. The snowpack varies a lot. Thicker areas at tree line and above with close to 100cm of snow have a much denser and stronger snowpack while most areas below tree line have 40-50cm and consist mostly of facets(sugar snow).

The weak basal facets are still a concern and have a potential to be triggered from thin snowpack areas which are still plentiful at this time.

Weather Summary

A cloudy day is forecast with temps around -2 in the afternoon. Winds will continue out of the NW into the moderate range and no new snow is forecast.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Regions covered