Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Recent winds have created new wind slabs and have stripped some areas of snow. More slabs will likely be formed with continued winds and snowfall this weekend.
There is still good riding to be had in sheltered areas.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
There have been several explosive controlled and natural avalanches up to size to 2 observed in the past week to the south of Jasper National Park, failing on the October crust at the base of the snowpack.
Snowpack Summary
15 cm of low density snow in sheltered areas overlies a faceted midpack. The November 20th surface hoar layer was found down 60 cm in one pit in the alpine. At treeline there is a crust down 30 cm. The October crust is widespread and is found near the base of the snow pack and has facets above and below. Snow depth is roughly 70 cm at treeline and tapers rapidly below.
Weather Summary
Friday Night
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace
Alpine temperature: Low -12 °C.
Ridge wind southwest: 15-30 km/h
Saturday
Cloudy with scattered flurries.
Accumulation: 5 cm.
Alpine temperature: High -7 °C.
Ridge wind southwest: 20-40 km/h
Sunday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: Low -8 °C, High -7 °C.
Ridge wind west: 10 km/h.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
- Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
New windslabs have been made over the last few days. Expect more to be created this weekend if winds come in as forecast.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
The Oct 18 crust is found just above the ground with weak facets above and below it. There’s uncertainty around its distribution and triggerability. More activity has been observed to the south of JNP, but limited observations make it hard to predict when and where it may be a problem.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5