Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Apr 1 – 2, 2018Parks Canada
View on map
Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map

Highlights

Happy Easter Everyone!

Avalanche problems

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3
    Cornices are growing with fresh snow additions. Several failures were noted, in most cases triggering a slab below.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2.5
    Wind slabs sit on a hard melt-freeze crust on solar aspects, and facets on polar aspects. Assess the bond at these interfaces carefully before committing to to a slope.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2.5
    In most cases this interface presents as a manageable surface instability and is expected to go dormant pretty quickly. Pay close attention to any fellow travelers above and/or below you as enter fresh terrain.

Weather Forecast

Weak fronts spinning off an Aleutian Low will push against the Arctic high that sits over Alberta. This will give a mix of sun and cloud with light flurries until later in the week.  The overnight low for Monday will be -20, with the daytime high reaching -10.  Winds will remain light and variable.

Snowpack Summary

A variety of slab conditions exist on most aspects at treeline and above. 10-20cm of recent storm snow has created a soft storm slab. This storm slab is up to 30cm thick . Below this, older slabs up to 60cm thick sit on a sun-crust on solar aspects and facets on polar aspects. Below treeline the snow is shallow.

Avalanche Summary

Explosives work on the Icefields Parkway produced numerous soft slab up to size 2.5. 

Confidence

Regions covered