Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Dec 15 – 16, 2023Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 3 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

The wind is forecast to increase through Friday. Watch for new wind-slabs and spin drift avalanches if ice climbing or skiing.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2

    A wind event on Wednesday has created wind slabs in the alpine and down into tree line.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2.5

    The snow pack is very weak at the bottom. Natural activity has not been observed yet. Keep this on your radar as triggering remains possible with the shallow nature of the overall snowpack.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A few small wind slabs reported at ridge top at Marmot Basin over the past couple of days. Widespread spin drifts were noted off steep rocky terrain due to the strong winds on Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

Trace amounts of snow fell on Thursday. The snowpack is 40-60cm deep and is weak and facetted. A surface hoar layer is down 15-20cm below 2300m. Previous strong winds have stripped exposed alpine and tree-line terrain and created wind-slabs in cross-loaded and lee features.

Weather Summary

The Mountain Weather Forecast is available at Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

Friday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: High -6 °C.

Ridge wind southwest: 20 km/h.

Saturday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: Low -7 °C, High -5 °C.

Ridge wind west: 20-30 km/h.

Freezing level: 1500m

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.

Regions covered