Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Little has changed with the avalanche hazard in the last few days, and this "trend" is expected to continue.
If you're venturing out to enjoy the cold weather, be sure to pack some extra gear to stay warm if the unexpected happens.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been observed in our region in the last few days.
Snowpack Summary
The 10-25 cm from Feb 1st, mostly redistributed by wind, sits over top of a weak layer consisting of temperature crusts, winds slabs, or faceted snow. The midpack is weak and faceted. The early season crusts are faceting and breaking down but continue to persist along with large depth hoar at the base. The snowpack at tree line is 70-130 cm in the Icefields area and 50 cm in the Maligne area.
Weather Summary
Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: High -18 °C.
Ridge wind north: 10-30 km/h.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: Low -21 °C, High -13 °C.
Ridge wind west: 10-30 km/h.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
10-20cm of soft snow has been redistributed into windslabs in lee features particularly at ridgetops. They appear to be stubborn to trigger but be sure to assess this before entering wind effected terrain. Watch for windslabs on all aspects as winds have been variable in direction.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Deep Persistent Slabs
A variety of crusts with facets above and below exist at the bottom of the snowpack. These layers are going to be with us for a long time and pose a low probability, high consequence situation if triggered.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely
Expected Size: 2 - 3