Kananaskis

Lots of good skiing to be found, but continue to watch for pockets of wind slab at upper elevations. Buried sun crusts on solar aspects could be reactive in steeper terrain, especially during periods of intense solar radiation.

Wednesday will be mostly sunny and cold with temps ranging from -28 to -15. Winds will be generally light from the north.

Thursday is mainly cloudy and slightly warmer, with a slight chance of flurries in the afternoon.

No new avalanches observed on Tuesday.

Up to 15cm of new snow in the past 24 hours brings recent storm snow totals to between 40 and 60cm. The recent snow remains low density with isolated wind effect in wind prone areas of the Alpine. On solar aspects a series of buried sun crusts are interspersed with soft snow, which is tending to make the ski quality poor on solar aspects. Forecasters continue to monitor the Feb 19th interface (sun crust on solar aspects and hard slab everywhere else) now buried 40 to 60cm. This interface has produced a small amount of natural avalanches in past days, and may become more of a problem as the density of the recent storm snow increases (due to warming, wind and/or settlement). Take the time to dig down frequently and evaluate the bond at this interface.

• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and wind exposure.
• Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
• Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.