Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Jasper.
Winds are at it again... wind slab problem in the alpine and exposed tree line features remains on the radar.
Weather Forecast
Wednesday
Mostly sunny.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: High -8 C.
Ridge wind northwest: 10-25 km/hr.
Freezing level valley bottom.
Thursday
Mostly sunny.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: Low -9 C, High -7 C.
Ridge wind light west.
Freezing level valley bottom.
Friday
Mostly cloudy.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: Low -12 C, High -8 C
Snowpack Summary
Continued widespread wind effect and stripping in alpine from renewed strong to extreme SW winds; Monday saw a period of reverse loading values. Thin sun crust likely on solar aspects into the alpine. The midpack is mostly supportive. Weak facet layers down ~20-30cm and a crust down 40-60cm below 1950m, faceting but still reactive in snowpit tests.
Avalanche Summary
Maligne patrol Tuesday noted no new avalanche activity - no patrol south.Â
Confidence
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Incremental new snow from Monday and strong to extreme SW winds continue to add to lingering wind slab. Watch out for hollow sounding snow where a hard wind slab sits over weak facets.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
- Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
The slab problem overlies different layers depending on elevation and aspect. Lower elevations has a rain crust 40-60cm down with weak facets on top reacting to tests. Above 1950m, a buried surface facet layer down 20-30cm is the primary concern.
- Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering is more likely.
- Dig down to find and test weak layers before committing to a line.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 3