The Jasper Visitor Safety team wishes you all a happy, safe New Year full of perfect turns.
Weather Forecast
No new snow is expected until the weekend. Valley bottom temperatures will hover around 0 C through to Thursday with some daytime melting in the valley bottoms in the afternoons. Winds will remain light from the West at lower elevations and more Moderate Northwest winds will move snow around at the ridgetops.
Snowpack Summary
Snowpack is faceting and losing strength in shallow areas. Midpack is still generally supportive above treeline, with wind slabs in lee features at upper elevations. New surface hoar is being observed on the surface and is quite widespread below treeline.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed in the icefields area today. Cooler temperatures and light clouds reduced the number of loose snow avalanches occurring on steep rocks. Cornice control on Sunday at Marmot Basin did not trigger any slabs in the slopes below.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable on Wednesday
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.