Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 31st, 2023–Apr 1st, 2023

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 possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper, Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.

Cooler temps, cloud cover, and a trace of new snow will put the spring feeling on hold for the next few days.

Deep persistent slabs may still be reactive to human triggers in shallow snowpack areas.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity reported over the past 2 days.

On Tuesday a size 2 avalanche ran in the Churchill North Slide path to tree line.

Don't forget to post avalanche observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Sun crust at all elevations on solar aspects. Facets on polar aspects with unsupportive pockets in shallow snowpack areas. The middle of the snowpack consists of multiple layers of dense wind-affected snow, sun crust, and facets. Depth hoar and basal facets make up the base of the snowpack. Snow depth varies ranges from 60-170cm.

Weather Summary

Saturday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: High -7 °C.

Ridge wind west: 15-35 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Sunday

Cloudy with scattered flurries.

Accumulation: 5 cm.

Alpine temperature: Low -11 °C, High -8 °C.

Ridge wind north: 10-25 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Monday

Flurries.

Accumulation: 4-8 cm.

Alpine temperature: Low -14 °C, High -7 °C.

Ridge wind light to 15 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.

Problems

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.