Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 14th, 2024–Apr 15th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

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

Winter is back in the alpine with some new snow on it's way today; expect to find wind slabs on lee features.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A loose dry size one was reported on Sunday in the Icefields area as well as serac falls off of Kitchener and snowdome.

Neighbouring forecast areas are reporting numerous dry loose and wet loose avalanches to size 1.5 from the heat and sun over the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

Yesterday's heat has formed a crust to 2600m all aspects and mountain top on solar slopes. Solar slopes at tree line and below have a plethora of crusts in the upper snow pack.

On shaded slopes 10-20cm of recent snow has been redistributed by South to SW winds forming windslabs in the alpine. The Feb 3 PWL is down 40-100cm and remains a concern on shaded aspects and shallow areas, above 2400m.

The basal depth hoar/facets are gaining strength in deeper snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Mountain Weather Forecast is available at Avalanche Canada

Monday

Flurries (5-7cm during the day with up to 15cm overnight in isolated areas). Wind west: 15-30 km/h. Freezing level: 1900m.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Alpine temps: Low -12 °C, High -8 °C. Wind north: 15 km/h gusting to 45 km/h.

Wednesday

Cloudy with sunny periods. Alpine temps: Low -13 °C, High -9 °C. Wind north: 15-35 km/h.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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.