Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 2nd, 2024–Apr 3rd, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Jasper, Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.

Precipitation, strong wind, and warm temperatures on Tuesday night will stress our weak snowpack. Give the new snow time to settle and wait for the temperatures to cool before traveling in avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural size 1-1.5 wet loose avalanches observed on solar aspects at all elevations on the Icefields Parkway today. Wet loose avalanches were noted on all aspects at treeline.

One natural 1.5 wet slab avalanche was reported on an east aspect at 2000m near boundary lake with similar observations near Parkers Ridge.

A natural size 2.5 persistent slab was observed this morning on Mt. Muhigan near the Jasper townsite on Monday. NE aspect at approx 2400m.

Snowpack Summary

15-30cm of snow sits over the March 19th crust which is present everywhere except North aspects above 1900m. Solar aspects have multiple crusts within the upper 30 cm. Widespread wind effect in the alpine with intense wind transport observed on the Icefields Parkways today creating fresh wind slab. The Feb 3rd crust interface is down 30-90cm. Basal depth hoar and facets make up the bottom of the snowpack. HS ranges from 50 to 150cm.

Thursday

Temperature crust on all aspects up to approx. 2300m. A sun crust will extend to higher elevations on solar aspects. 15-30cm of settling snow sits over the March 19th crust which is present everywhere except North aspects above 1900m.

Weather Summary

Tonight Freezing level 1700m with 10cm of snow & strong to extreme SW wind

Wednesday Isolated flurries in the AM. 1-3 cm Accumulation. Ridge wind SW 15 km/h gusting to 45. Freezing level 1600m

Thursday Cooling with Freezing level at valley bottom. Trace precipitation. Wind E 10-30

Friday Freezing level 2300m

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

Thursday

Terrain and Travel Advice

A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
If triggered loose wet avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.