Kananaskis

Take the time to dig down and evaluate the snowpack before committing to a line. There are several buried layers of concern, principally the very weak basal layers.

High -

Weather models are disagreeing about the extent of possible precipitation for Wednesday. Some models are calling for up to 8cm, while others are predicting only a trace of new snow. There is consistency in the temperature and wind predictions with highs of -3 Celsius and strong to extreme SW winds expected.

One size 2.0 naturally triggered slab avalanche was observed today. This slab occurred at 2600m on a NW aspect in the past 24hrs, likely triggered by wind loading.

An additional 2cm of new snow fell overnight. The upper snowpack consists of mostly low density surface snow with ski penetrations around 30cm. However, wind slabs are noticeable at Treeline elevations and get progressively more dense and widespread across the terrain as you gain elevation. In most cases the bond below these wind slabs seems to be relatively good, but convex and unsupported terrain should be approached cautiously. Forecasters are watching a few persistent weak layers deeper in the snowpack that continue to give results in stability tests. The layers to watch for include the Dec 30th facet interface (down 50cm), the Dec 10th surface hoar/facet interface (down 70cm) and the extensive basal facets which make up the entire bottom half of the snowpack.