Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Jasper.
Snowfall amounts vary greatly throughout the park with 10cm of new snow on the Icefields & 35cm on Maligne Lake Road. Snowpack is extremely variable. Cautious evaluation is required for each new zone
Maligne Lake Road is Closed. Updates at Alberta 511
Weather Forecast
Tuesday: A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries and trace precipitation.
Alpine High -16 C.
Ridge wind NW 10-25 km/hr
Wednesday: A mix of sun and cloud. No precipitation.
Alpine High -23 C
West wind 10-20 km/h.
Thursday: Mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries and trace precipitation.
Alpine high -13.
Wind West 15km/h
Snowpack Summary
10-15cm of storm snow sits over 10-30cm of wind slab in the alpine & at tree line. Buried surface hoar down 30cm was observed in a wind sheltered area near weeping wall today. The mid pack has two layers of concern. The dec 26 facet layer is buried 30-50cm down with a weak crust facet combo down 50-80cm below 1950m. Snowpack depth varies 50-200cm.
Avalanche Summary
The Maligne area received significantly more snow then the rest of our tenure due to localized upslope conditions. Several size 2 storm slabs were observed near medicine lake on a West aspect at tree line. These storm slabs may have failed on preserved surface hoar.
No new avalanche activity observed on the Icefields Parkway Jan 31.
Confidence
Avalanche Problems
Loose Dry
Dry loose avalanches will become more reactive as the temperature drops Tuesday - Wednesday.
- Be careful of loose dry power sluffing in steep, confined or exposed terrain.
- If triggered dry loose point releases can form deeper deposits in terrain traps.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5
Wind Slabs
10-15 cm of recent snow is available for transport on the Icefileds Parkway. This new snow will make previous wind slab difficult to spot. Be on the lookout for reverse loading caused by northerly winds on Tuesday.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
Persistent slabs sit over different weak layers depending on elevation & aspect. Above 1950m a buried facet layer down 20-40cm is the primary concern. Below 1950m, a faceting crust down 40-70 is presenting a more stubborn version of a similar problem
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 3