Be on your game for the weekend. Persistent slabs in exposed areas make it difficult to travel with confidence. Watch for increasing west winds that may further develop windslabs and rising temperatures that may allow for easier triggering.
Summary
Weather Forecast
A ridge will reach the coast Friday and bring warmer, moist air to theĀ Jasper region through the weekend. Alpine temperatures will be inverted and reach -6C on Saturday with a chance of a few flurries in the AM, watch for West winds to increase to 15km/h. An increase in the freezing levels to 2200m is called for Sunday as West winds to 20km/h.
Snowpack Summary
10-15cm of recent snow has blown into thin windslabs TL and above. Old slabs 10-30cm deeper sit on a weak layer of facets or surface hoar TL and above. In sheltered areas this new snow sits a faceted upper snowpack at all elevations. A strong mid snowpack crust is providing strength but is weakening. The lower snowpack continues to lose strength.
Avalanche Summary
Yesterday, besides a few small windslabs and sluffs from alpine terrain,
a sz 2 slab 20cm deep and 50m wide likely failed on the Dec 18 persistent layer. This shallow slab ran a few meters before stepping down another 40 cm (likely through weak facets to the November 27 midpack crust). All of this ran 70m to a cliff triggering a small slab below.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations on Friday