While the weather in the foothills had been pleasant recently, Kananaskis Country is currently a bit dangerous.
K-Country from just south of Banff to Mist Mountain west of Longview has a high risk of avalanches, thanks to the new snow and wind slab in the area.
Thanks to the new snow and wind slabs, combined with the already weak snowpack, there are dangerous avalanche conditions, causing Avalanche Canada to tell people to avoid all of the avalanche terrain in the area.
Today (Monday, March 10) and Tuesday, that part of K-Country shows a high risk of avalanche for the alpine and tree line areas, while below the tree line, there is still a considerable risk of avalanches occurring.
This new snow sits on weak faceted crystals, sun crust, or a dense layer that is perfect for slab avalanches. This layer will not handle new or re-loaded snow caused by the wind very well.
Avalanche Canada suspects there will be some avalanche activity throughout the day today, as a flight in the Ghost region recently had a small slab release.
The area had roughly 25 cm of storm snow over the weekend, and with the strong winds this weekend, fresh wind slabs in the alpine areas and at the tree line are expected.
Currently, there are two issues that are occurring in K-Country, the new wind slabs are growing and are touchy when it comes to human triggering, as well as the persistent slab resting on a large layer of facets.
Due to that, Avalanche Canada believes the persistent slab may be triggered by the extra weight of a person or the extra weight of the wind slab, and they are advising people to stay away from these areas.
Even below the tree line it is challenging to travel, as the weight of skiers is not being supported by the snowpack underneath.
The Ghost region has also been experiencing a lot of wind, so if you do make your way out there, expect to find bowls above ice climbs to be loaded, as there have been reports of avalanches in the Ghost area.
There are also some areas in K-Country that are closed for avalanche control.
To stay up to date on the avalanche risks, click here.