Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Thick-to-thin trigger points and areas where the mid-March crust is not supportive to boots or skis are suspect.Avoid overhead hazards in the afternoon as the sun is starting to pack a punch these days.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Small solar triggered sluffs reported by the public on Friday.Maligne area field patrol observed no new natural avalanche activity today .
Snowpack Summary
Thin sun crust present on steep solar slopes at all elevations. Elsewhere, about 10cm of soft snow on top of 2-10cm melt freeze crust on Wednesday. The Feb 3rd crust interface is down 35-60cm. Basal depth hoar makes up the bottom third of the snowpack. HS ranges from 50 to 150cm.
Weather Summary
Mountain Weather Forecast is available @ Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast
Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Precipitation: Nil. Alpine temperature: High -4 °C. Ridge wind west: 10-20 km/h. Freezing level: 1800 metres.Tuesday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temp: High -4 °C. Ridge wind west: 10-25 km/h. Freezing level: 1700 metres.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Even a small avalanche can be harmful if it pushes you into an obstacle or a terrain trap.
- Avoid steep slopes when air temperatures are warm, or solar radiation is strong.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Thick to thin trigger points and areas where mid March crust is not supportive to boots or skis are a suspect. This problem layer is the crust and facets created by early February's warm spell. It is down 30-90 cm in the snowpack and is a 1-10 cm thick crust with a layer of weak facets above.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5
Deep Persistent Slabs
Basal depth hoar makes up the bottom of the snowpack. This is a low probability but high consequence problem. Stay away from weak, rocky, shallow location where triggering this layer is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3.5