Kananaskis

Enjoy the fresh snow in simple terrain with no overheard exposure. Natural avalanche cycle is ongoing.

Bad visibility throughout the day. Several rumbles were heard from the steep headwall in the back of the basin today. On the drive home, there was visible debris below large features and a fresh crown on the SE aspect of tent ridge which ran in to the valley below where most skiers descend from tryst lake basin. Loose dry and sluffs were observed on any feature steep enough.

The storm produced. Field teams in the black prince area today found 70CM of new snow sitting overtop of a sun crust in the tree triangle. This amount seems highly drainage dependant as the weather stations in the burstall pass area recorded 30cm. This new snow now overlies the Jan 30th interface. Below the Jan 30th there is a mostly faceted snowpack to ground with a standout layer about 30cm off the ground of large depth hoar crystals.

Traveling off of established skin tracks at lower elevations is very challenging due to the weak nature of the snowpack. Once higher this becomes easier.

Tuesday:

Mostly cloudy with sunny periods, isolated flurries. Day time high of -9 with 50km West winds

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Choose simple, low-angle terrain without steep convex rolls.
• Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 25 cm of new snow.
• Be alert to changing conditions throughout the day.
• Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.
• Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
• Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
• Cautiously approach steep slopes that are open or sparsely treed.