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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 18th, 2013–Jan 19th, 2013

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

Regions

Kananaskis.

Well, the warm winds are blowing and the snow ain't falling.  Most open terrain has been ravaged by winds over the past few days.  Watch for stiff windslabs, especially in convex or unsupported terrain.

Confidence

Fair

Weather Forecast

Well...  The winds are expected to continue for one more day then we will see them begin to drop off a little and the temperatures to also decrease.  No new snow is in forecast for few days yet.  When it does snow again, that will be a good thing as the snowpack has settled and strengthened with the latest warm spell...

Avalanche Summary

Report into the office a Skier remotely triggered sz 2 from 50m away on Kent Ridge.  Slide was 5-50cm deep, 60m wide and ran approx 100m.  Slide failed on the ground.  No other avalanches were observed.

Snowpack Summary

Widespread hard slabs in all open wind affected terrain.  Mixture of hardslabs and soft slabs at treeline failing down 40-50cm on the Jan 6th facet interface.  Midpack still well settled.

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.