Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Feb 4 – 6, 2024Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

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

10-15cm of snow fell during this weather input. Once you get above 2000m the rain soaked snowpack turns more supportive and travel becomes much easier. A slight refresh to ski quality!

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

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

    Light winds and less than forecasted snow amounts will keep this problem more isolated to cross loaded and lee features in the alpine.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–2.5

    This will still be an issue in areas that escaped the heat, as there is no previous crust to hold the snowpack together.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

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

    This layer is shielded by 2 crusts, but is still triggerable from thin to thick transitions. Very much a low probability, high consequence situation.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Bad visibility on the drive today did not note any new avalanches. However a field trip in to the hero's knob drainage noted a wide spread avalanche cycle from the previous warm and wet weather to Size 2 on all aspects treeline and above.

Snowpack Summary

A field team went out in to the South part of the spray today where the weather stations say the most snow has fallen. We found about 8cm of new snow overlying the previous rain soaked surfaces which appears to be bonding well with the warmer temperatures. The slightly moist snow below is trying to dry out. This new snow is also sitting on a now breakable crust that isn't all that supportive until you get above 2000m. We did not get all the expected precip we were hoping for, but the ski quality has been slightly refreshed.

Weather Summary

Things are finally changing a bit. Weather stations are all saying about 10-15cm of snow in the last 36 hours. The temps remain warm about -5 and light winds. Monday will see a slight appearance from the sun mid day with day time highs around -6. Winds will continue to be light out of the SW.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Regions covered