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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 16th, 2014–Mar 17th, 2014

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Jasper.

The 35cm of precipitation that fell in the Columbia Icefields covers up a myriad of different snow surfaces. Great care is needed as you navigate through the terrain - particularly at tree-line and subalpine elevations.

Weather Forecast

Snow for the southern region of the forecasting area ending tonight with light south westerly winds and cooling temps. Another pulse of snow is forecast for later in the week with some models giving a further 15cm of snow in the Icefields on Wednesday night.

Snowpack Summary

The Columbia Icefields received 35cm of low density snow overnight. Prior to that the alpine was found to be scoured old snow or hard windslabs.

Avalanche Summary

Limited observations today due to poor visibility on Highway 93 south. Recent remote and skier accidental avalanches as well as extensive whumphing of the snow pack at tree line and the sub alpine is the biggest concern and this problem layer is not likely to heal for the foreseeable future.

Confidence

Problems

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.