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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 28th, 2022–Jan 29th, 2022

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.

Sun crust on solar aspects and wind effect alpine and tree line, but open sheltered trees may still have some nice turns. Forecast snow Sunday into Monday may increase the hazard - keep an eye on the forecast.

Weather Forecast

Saturday

Variable cloud.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: High -9 C.

Ridge wind southwest 20-35 km/hr.

Freezing level valley bottom.

Sunday

Flurries.

Precipitation: 12cm.

Alpine temperature: Low -9 C, High -5 C.

Ridge wind southwest 15 gust 45 km/hr

Freezing level valley bottom.

Monday

Scattered flurries.

Precipitation: 4cm.

Alpine Low -12 C, High -6 C

Snowpack Summary

Widespread wind effect and stripping in alpine from previous strong to extreme SW winds. Wind slab in specific areas tree line and above. Thin sun crust on steep solar aspects up to ~2300m. The midpack is mostly supportive. Weak facet layer down ~20-30cm and a crust down 40-60cm below 1950m, faceting but still reactive in snowpit tests.

Avalanche Summary

Nothing new reported in the latter part of the week. Expecting that sensitivity of wind slab problem is decreasing with time and no soft snow left for transport in the alpine; uncertainty remains regarding the persistent slab sitting on the late December facets.

Confidence

Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Sunday

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.