Check 511 for Highway 93 opening status. Give the staggering amount of new snow time to heal and stabilize. Jasper Avalanche technicians consider any slope that has not naturally released is primed for human triggering. Be extra vigilant for avalanches that may run full path and impact your position at a lower elevation.
The 50-100cm of new snow since Monday is overloading this problem. A natural cycle is ongoing. Any slope not released naturally should be considered sensitive to human triggering.
50-100cm of new snow in the Icefields created a storm slab at higher elevations. Expect them to be 20-30 cm deep at higher elevations around the Bald Hills area.
Explosive control on Saturday triggered numerous size 4's running almost full path. South of Churchill slide path, a natural cycle continues up to size 4.5 with the biggest results in the last 24 hours. On Thursday a roadway patrol from the Jasper townsite to Parker Ridge observed numerous wet loose up to size 3.
Since Monday, 91mm of precipitation has fallen as a mixture of rain and snow along the Icefields Parkway, and 20-25mm in the Maligne area. Alpine may have received 50-100cm of new snow. A persistent weak layer of surface hoar and facets is buried 50-150 cm. The midpack is generally well consolidated with facets near the ground. Average snow depths for Icefields is 150-220 cm and Maligne is 60-140 cm.
Sunday will bring clouds, flurries, -10 °C, light West gusting 50 km/hr winds. Monday-Wednesday could be more sun and similar conditions as Sunday except for -17 °C on Wednesday.
