Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Jan 31 – Feb 1, 2015Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 12 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Cornices have been active in the past 72 hours, and careful attention is needed when traveling on or below corniced ridges.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    This layer remains a concern in isolated areas above treeline and may be triggered by large loads such as cornices or from shallow areas by skiers. Explosive control work yielded many results at this interface early in the week.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2
    The interface between storm snow and the melt-freeze crust from the recent warm temperatures warrants investigation. Touchy conditions should be expected in steep terrain, particularly on NE aspects below 2400m.

Weather Forecast

Temps forecasted to drop to -20C by Saturday AM, then warming back up to -10C by the evening. Precipitation amounts are uncertain, with variability in the models, but up to 15cm of new snow possible in the next 24 hours. Winds will increase to moderate SW overnight, then expected to be variable throughout the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

Recent warm temperatures and rain followed by cooler temps have produced a widespread crust up to 2400m on all aspects. Above this, previous wind affected surfaces in exposed areas and wind slabs on lee aspects. We received 5-10cm of new snow today with minimal wind below treeline, but gusting to 50km/h in the alpine and loading North East aspects.

Avalanche Summary

Poor visibility today. Touchy cornices have been observed and reported in the past 48 hours. Some cornice falls triggered slabs up to size 2 at the ski hill during recent natural cornice failures.

Confidence

Regions covered