Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Jasper.
Soft turns possible in sheltered locations; Alpine is wind hammered and variable.
Weather Forecast
Friday
Variable cloud.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: High -8 C.
Ridge wind west 15 km/hr.
Freezing level valley bottom.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy.
Precipitation: Nil.
Alpine temperature: Low -11 C, High -8 C.
Ridge wind southwest 15-30 km/hr
Freezing level valley bottom.
Sunday
Flurries.
Precipitation: 8cm.
Alpine temperature: Low -12 C, High -6 C
Snowpack Summary
Widespread wind effect and stripping in alpine from previous strong to extreme SW winds. Wind slab in specific areas tree line and above. Thin sun crust on steep solar aspects up to ~2300m. The midpack is mostly supportive. Weak facet layer down ~20-30cm and a crust down 40-60cm below 1950m, faceting but still reactive in snowpit tests.
Avalanche Summary
Patrol and tour south end of Churchill range noted no new avalanche activity Wednesday. No patrol on Thursday.
Confidence
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind slab can be found in specific alpine and tree line terrain features. 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 facet layer down 40-50cm 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