Over 100cm of snow has fallen in the Ice Fields region since Dec 11. We continue to see wide spread avalanche activity throughout the back country. This is the time to be on high alert when traveling in any avalanche terrain.
Problemas de aludes
Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alta montaña
Límite del bosque
Bajo el límite del bosque
Probabilidad
Possible
Tamaño
1–2.5
Moderate SW winds and new snow continues to build fresh wind, particularly near ridge-tops.
Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alta montaña
Límite del bosque
Bajo el límite del bosque
Probabilidad
Possible - Likely
Tamaño
1–3.5
This layer now sits under a meter of snow, any terrain that has not had previous activity on this layer should be given a wide berth.
Deep Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alta montaña
Límite del bosque
Bajo el límite del bosque
Probabilidad
Unlikely - Possible
Tamaño
1–4
Several recent large avalanches have been the result of the entire snowpack failing on or near the ground due to the weak snowpack structure surrounding this interface.
Weather Forecast
A cooling trend has taken hold. Temperatures will gradually "warm", through the weekend with alpine highs near -10C. The sky will be generally a mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation in the near future. Moderate south-west winds forecastedA detailed mountain weather forecast is available from Avalanche Canada.
Snowpack Summary
Moderate south west winds continue to load lee slopes at tree line and above. The Dec. 11th persistent weak layer has been buried by up to 100cm snow and producing a significant natural cycle up to size 4, observable from the Icefields Parkway . The deep persistent weakness lingers near the ground.
Avalanche Summary
Friday's avalanche control produced consistent size 2 to 2.5 avalanches running to roadside. Damage from the most recent, intensive natural cycle is only now visible; with large slides, on skied terrain. Most notably is a large, possibly cornice triggered size 3.5, which ran nearly full run-out, on the Churchill (north and south) slide paths.
Confidence
Due to the number and quality of field observations