Sunday, January 13, 2008 Kananaskis Country Backcountry Avalanche Information Report Report valid: Sunday, January 13, 2008 until further notice. This report is for backcountry terrain only. Skiing conditions for facility areas are not included in this report. For current trail conditions please see our Trails Report Avalanche Danger Scale Alpine: Considerable Treeline: Considerable Below Treeline: Moderate Discussion: Only a trace amount of new snow fell overnight on Sunday and temperatures remained generally mild. Overall, we are continuing to see some settlement and strengthening of the upper snowpack but the concerns associated with the persistent weak basal facets are likely to continue for some time. An injury accident avalanche occurred late in the afternoon on Sunday in the Tryst lake area. Two skiers who were skiing on a Northern aspect triggered a size 2.5 avalanche that ran from the crest of the ridge down to the lake. One skier was buried down 1m while the second skier managed to avoid being caught in the slide by hanging onto nearby trees. Quick field observations estimated the slab thickness to be between 30-60cms thick and up to 100m across at its widest point. The slide ran close to 300m in length and failed at the ground in the basal facets. Despite the warmer temperatures promoting some settlement and strengthening within the snowpack it will be some time before we will see any significant change in overall stability. Skiers should continue to choose conservative lines and avoid bigger terrain features. In alpine areas, lenses of hard slabs have developed within lee features (N and E aspects) and along cross-loaded terrain. Shallow or rocky snowpack areas will be the weak points where skiers will be able to cause a failure in the underlying facets so choose travel routes that avoid these areas. Due to the widespread weak facetted base and the overlying hard slab, it is also likely that any avalanche that does occur will propagate across a given terrain feature and involve the entire snowpack. At treeline, a variety of hard and soft slabs can be found along ridgelines, behind tree fences and in gullied terrain that remain sensitive to light loads such as a skier. Choose travel routes that avoid these types of features and be very careful to avoid steep and unsupported slopes and be watching for the affects of localized winds. Be prepared to turn around or change your travel plans as you move into increasingly wind affected terrain --Especially if you begin to encounter cracking or whumpfing as you travel. Forecasts for Monday are calling for some of the warmest temperatures we have seen this season. Daytime highs of +6°C are forecast for valley bottoms throughout the region. As a result, we should expect to see some decreases in stability on solar aspects later in the day as conditions warm up. Conditions: It has been some time since we have seen any significant snowfall in the region and as a result, good turns are getting tougher to find. If you do manage to find a powder “stash” you might be best served by not telling anyone. Cornices are larger than normal for this time of year so be sure to avoid spending time on slopes with these “triggers” overhead.