Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Apr 4 – 5, 2021
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Archived · expired 5 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

!Solar aspects are of most concern!Loose wet should be on your mind at tree line and below. While committing to tree line and steep alpine, carefully assess for sun crust below.Polar aspects have a lot of fun turns to offer.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2.5

    New and building wind slabs can be found in lee features near ridge crests, and cross-loaded gullies.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3

    When in the Whistlers/Portal and Maligne Regions identify and assess the bond at this mid-pack layer. This interface shows strength in field tests, but there is concern for wide, spatial variability over large and/or connected features.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Expect loose wet avalanches, especially in the heat of the day. Solar aspects TL and below are suspect.

Weather Forecast

Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Precipitation: Nil. Alpine temperature: High -4 °C. Ridge wind west: 15 km/h. Freezing level: 1800 metres.

Tuesday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temperature: Low -7 °C, High -3 °C. Ridge wind southwest: 15 km/h gusting to 45 km/h. Freezing level: 1900 metres.

Snowpack Summary

HST of 10-30cm of new snow becoming moist TL and below on solar aspects. Shifting winds forming isolated wind slabs at TL and ALP. The snowpack shows good bonding in field tests in deeper snowpack areas, shallow snowpack regions such as Whistler/Portal and Bald Hills have bigger a potential for weak layers to wake up and are more complex to assess.

Avalanche Summary

Sunday patrol in the Icefields region observed several small loose wet at TL and below on steep solar aspects. Few storm slabs observed up to size 2 on solar aspects at TL where suspected sun crust from March 19th is more developed. 1 large size 3 cornice triggered slab avalanche seen on Churchil Range, this avalanche ran on deeper instabilities.

Confidence

Freezing levels are uncertain

Regions covered