Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Instead of going outside, how about a discussion, I'll start:
The forecast region is going into a deep freeze, probably for a week.
What will the extreme cold temperatures do to the snowpack? And, the hard question,
What will it take for the snowpack to recover from the cold?
Stay warm, friends. See you at the coffee shop!
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches were reported from the field today.
Snowpack Summary
10cm of recent snowfall has been redistributed by moderate winds again exposing ice, rocky ridges, and terrain features, in the Icefields. The snowpack is structurally weak, with mixed facets, a strong temperature gradient, and well-established depth hoar in the base. Sheltered areas have an average snow depth of ~45-75 cm. Foot pen to ground in most places.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Overnight:
Uncomfortably cold, temps falling to -33°C (feels like -46°C)
Thursday
Cloudy with sunny periods. Icefields high: -34°C. Slightly worse closer to town, -37°C.
The Mountain Weather Forecast is available at Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
You must keep this basal layer on your radar as triggering is possible in isolated features, such as steep rocky terrain where you find yourself standing on the surface and not wallowing in facets, that's the problem slab.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 2.5