Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Feb 23 – 24, 2017Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 10 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Remote skier triggering of avalanches continue amongst our nearest neighbors. The weak base will persist for sometime. Cautious decisions are key as avalanche  consequences would be severe.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Previous 25cm snow and moderate SW winds have added to the windslab problem in the alpine and open tree-line features.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Widespread whumphing and shooting cracks in previously un-skied terrain. Recent natural activity and remote triggering of this weakness resulted in avalanches up to size 3 failing on the weak faceted snowpack. Caution is recommended.

Weather Forecast

Light snow this week with light NW winds shifting Easterly on Friday. Seasonal temperatures dipping to -18 on Friday. 

Snowpack Summary

25cm snow last week at the Columbia Icefields with 35km/hr SW winds built windslabs at TL and ALP. Winds continue light to moderate from SW. A rain crust is below 1900m. A dense upper snowpack overlies a weak faceted base making for unpredictable dangerous avalanche conditions. Feb 10 SH layer may be 40cm deep yet its reactivity remains dormant. 

Avalanche Summary

No patrol on Monday or Tuesday. SAR team busy in Mcbride on rescue. On Feb 17 several size 2-3 avalanches were triggered by skiers from a significant distance away in the McCarib Pass area. Widespread whumphing and shooting cracks were noted in the Whistler creek area recently. 

Confidence

The weather pattern is stable

Regions covered