Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Be on the lookout for new wind slabs forming in the alpine with the forecast winds and new snow.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Small spin drifts and loose dry avalanches out of steep alpine terrain were observed in the icefields area on Monday.
Snowpack Summary
5cm of new snow with moderate to intense wind transport in the alpine. Solar slopes and all aspects at tree line and below have a plethora of crusts in the upper snow pack. The Feb 3 PWL is down 40-100cm and remains a concern on shaded aspects above 2400m . The basal depth hoar/facets are gaining strength in deeper snowpack areas.
Weather Summary
Mountain Weather Forecast is available @ Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
- Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
New wind slabs forming on previous hard surfaces (sun crusts and old wind slabs) will likely need some time to bond.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2
Persistent Slabs
This problem seems to be most active where the March 19th crust is not supportive over the Feb 3rd weak layer (down 30-90cm) of facets over a crust.
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3.5