Avalanche forecast

Kananaskis

Dec 21 – 22, 2016Alberta Parks
View on map
Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

Highlights

Fresh wind slabs are the main concern in the snowpack and they will be sensitive to human triggering for the next couple of days. Also watch for previously formed wind slabs found on all aspects.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely - Very Likely
    Size
    2–3
    Various layers of wind slab are found in the Alpine and at Treeline. The most recent storm focussed on lee and cross-loaded features, but previously formed wind slabs are found on all aspects. Evaluate terrain carefully before committing to a slope.

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    Still a concern given our mainly facetted snow pack. Gully features should be avoided. Ice climbers should be very aware of this concern.

Confidence

Moderate -

Weather Forecast

Thursday will be mostly cloudy with strong SW winds. Friday and Saturday could see light snow accumulations and cooler temperatures.

Avalanche Summary

Limited natural slab avalanche activity has been observed in Alpine terrain on all aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Another 10 to 12cm of new snow in the past 24 hours pushes the recent storm snow up to between 30 to 40cm. The storm snow interface produced moderate shears today in snowpack tests. Wind slabs are dominant in Alpine and Treeline areas, especially in lee and cross-loaded features. The November crust layer buried between 50 and 90cm continues to be a layer we are watching closely, but snowpack test results remain highly variable at this interface. The low elevation snowpack remains weak and facetted.

Regions covered