Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Good skiing is being found with up to 15cm of new snow over a supportive crust.
The weak layers under this crust are still a concern, especially in steep and shallow or rocky features, so evaluate your terrain of choice carefully.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Several loose dry avalanches up to size 1 were reported by Marmot Basin avalanche control teams on Wednesday.
No new avalanches were observed by a field team in the Icefields area on Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
About 10cm of new snow fell onto a 2-5cm melt freeze crust on Wednesday. The Feb 3rd crust interface is down 35-60cm. Basal depth hoar makes up the bottom third of the snowpack. HS ranges from 50 to 150cm.
Weather Summary
Mountain Weather Forecast is available @ Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast
Friday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: High -7 °C.
Light ridge wind.
Saturday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: Low -14 °C, High -9 °C.
Ridge wind east: 10 km/h.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
- Even a small avalanche can be harmful if it pushes you into an obstacle or a terrain trap.
Avalanche Problems
Loose Dry
Loose dry avalanches likely won't be much of a hazard unless they push you into or off a terrain trap.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5
Persistent Slabs
This problem layer is the crust and facets created by early February's warm spell. It is down 30-90 cm in the snowpack and is a 1-10 cm thick crust or multiple crusts with a layer of weak facets above.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3
Deep Persistent Slabs
Basal depth hoar makes up the bottom of the snowpack. This is a low probability but high consequence problem. Stay away from weak, rocky, shallow location where triggering this layer is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3.5