Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 23rd, 2023–Dec 24th, 2023

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Ski quality has improved but be careful on windloaded slopes. Yesterdays Northerly winds have created wind slabs in unusual locations due to reverse loading. The base of the snowpack is still weak & early-season hazards remain hidden just below the surface.

Happy Holidays from the Jasper Team!

We're hoping for some MIN's for x mas :)

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No road patrol today

Minor sloughing in steep alpine terrain and a small pocket of windslab from cornice trigger being reported on Dec 23 .

Snowpack Summary

5cm of new snow sits on a weak Melt-Freeze crust below 1900m on solar aspects. The snowpack is 45-80cm deep and is weak and facetted. Previous strong winds have stripped exposed alpine and tree-line terrain, creating hard wind slabs in cross-loaded and lee features. Basal weaknesses are a combo of large facets and chains of depth hoar.

An Ice Climbing Conditions report is available here.

Weather Summary

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

Sunday in the Icefields

Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperature High of -9 °C with ridgetop wind southwest 10 km/h.

Monday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Trace amounts of precipitation. Alpine temperature: Low -13 °C, High -8 °C with ridgetop wind southwest: 15 km/h.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

Problems

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.

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.