Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 26th, 2024–Feb 27th, 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 and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

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

The Icefields area saw up to 50cm of new snow with strong winds forming touchy windslabs. Exercise a high level of caution if you're heading out into the mountains, it's time to dial it way back.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural windslab avalanches, up to size 2 were observed in the Icefields area in the alpine and treeline. Explosives control in the Parkers area produced windslab results up to size 2.

Snowpack Summary

15 to 50 cm of new snow has fallen over the region, with the highest amounts around the Columbia Icefields. This has been accompanied by strong westerly winds at tree line and above. The new snow is falling on faceted snow which sits on a 1-3cm thick crust that is down 25-70 cm. The mid-pack is faceted with basal depth hoar and well developed facets near ground. HS ranges from 60 to 130cm.

Weather Summary

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

Tuesday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Alpine temperature High of -19 °C. Ridge wind southwest 15-35 km/h.

Wednesday

Snow. Accumulation 20-30 cm. Alpine temperature: Low -17 °C, High -6 °C. Ridge wind southwest: 25 km/h gusting to 70 km/h.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.