Avalanche Forecast
Kananaskis Country, Alberta Parks
The skiing is good right now, but be diligent when evaluating the avalanche problems. Increased northerly winds on Tuesday will create additional wind slabs.
Avalanche Problem 1: Persistent Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Be cautious in shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
- Be aware of the potential for wide propagations.
Avalanche Problem 2: Wind Slabs
What Elevation?
Which Slopes?
Chances of Avalanches?
Expected Size?
Recent wind slabs 30-50cm deep are being encountered in the Alpine on N and E aspects. These slabs do not yet extend far down-slope, but be cautious near ridge-crest. The strong northerly flow will add southerly aspects to the problem area tomorrow.
Travel and Terrain Advice
- Use caution in lee areas. Recent wind loading has created wind slabs.
- Avoid lee and cross-loaded terrain near ridge crests.
Avalanche Summary
A few slab avalanches up to size 2.5 were observed yesterday on steep N and E aspects in the Alpine. No new avalanches were observed today.
Snowpack Summary
Pockets of wind slab ranging from 30 to 50cm thick are present in Alpine areas in lee and cross-loaded features. At the moment these slabs do not extend far down-slope, but this will change as winds increase. The November crust layers are buried between 50 and 70cm at Treeline and do not appear particularly active, but are certainly worth keeping an eye on. The basal layers of the snowpack are made up of a mix of crusts from October and facets. These layers continue to show moderate to hard results in snowpack stability tests.
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure is building over the region bringing a cool northerly flow. Tuesday in Kananaskis will be a mix of sun and cloud with a high of -6 C. Ridge-top winds will be from the NW at 30-50 km/h. There is no precipitation in the forecast for at least the next 5 days.
Avalanche Forecasts in your Inbox
Avalanche Canada has switched to an RSS feed for its daily forecasts. This is a much more flexible method that allows automatic delivery to your email inbox, or to an RSS reader of your choice.
What are RSS feeds?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a popular standardized file format allowing up-to-date delivery of web-based content. RSS feeds enable you to receive content updates from websites, delivered to your email through an RSS aggregator (such as blogtrottr.com) or viewed through applications called RSS readers (such as feedly.com).
Set up an RSS feed for your email:
Select a RSS aggregator
- Kananaskis Country, Alberta Parks URL:
http://www.avalanche.ca/api/forecasts/kananaskis.rss - Copy the url and paste it into the appropriate field of your RSS aggregator.
- Fill in your email address.
- Voila! Watch the Avalanche Canada forecast roll into your inbox.
Forecast Disclaimer
Avalanche Canada's Public Avalanche Bulletin, and other information and services provided by Avalanche Canada, are intended for personal and recreational purposes only.
**THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION.**
The user acknowledges that it is impossible to accurately predict natural events such as avalanches in every instance, and uses the data in this bulletin with this always foremost in mind. The accuracy or reliability of the data is not guaranteed or warranted in any way and the Providers disclaim liability of any kind whatsoever, including, without limitation, liability for quality, performance, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose arising out of the use, or inability to use the data.
Remember, in shallow areas it is still possible to trigger the deeper layers and wake up the weak facets around the October crusts.