Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
Good skiing conditions can be found in areas with sufficient snow coverage, but deeper instabilities remain a significant concern despite a decrease in natural avalanche activity.
No major changes to the avalanche hazard are expected over the next few days.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
Several explosives triggered Deep Persistent Slabs, up to size 2, were reported by the ski hill on Wednesday. A good reminder that this problem is not going away, and triggering full depth avalanches is still a possibility.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10cm of new snow has fallen this week with generally very light winds.
The snowpack is mostly made up of facets and ranges in depth from 60 to 120 cm at treeline and above. At the bottom of the snowpack there are multiple early season crusts with facets above and below.
Weather Summary
Saturday
A mix of sun and cloud.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: High -7 °C.
Ridge wind light to 20 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Sunday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: Low -9 °C, High -8 °C.
Ridge wind light to 15 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
- Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
- Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
A variety of crusts with facets above and below exist at the bottom of the snowpack. These layers are going to be with us for a long time and pose a low probability, high consequence situation if triggered.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5