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.
Maligne valley and Poboktan caribou closures open March 1st. The basal depth hoar appears to be dormant; however, don't let it catch you off guard as triggering it would have severe consequences.
Weather Forecast
Next couple of days will be cold clear nights, warming in the afternoon sun, and dry conditions as the arctic air rules supreme over our region. Winds will be light Northerly. Mountain weather forecast available at Avalanche Canada.
Snowpack Summary
The upper snowpack on solar aspects is stiffening up otherwise it remains faceted on polar aspects. Wind effect is in open terrain from previous SW switching to N winds. The Jan 18 layer of surface hoar/facets down 40cm has mostly faceted away, yet still shows isolated sensitivity at treeline and below. The midpack is supportive over depth hoar.
Avalanche Summary
There were widespread loose surface avalanches up to size 1.5 noted on steep solar South and West aspects mainly at treeline initiated by intense sun. On Wednesday the team noted some isolated whumpfs and cracking around treeline in the Whistler Creek area.
Confidence
Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Problems
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.
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.