Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Jan 17 – 18, 2023Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Natural avalanche activity has slowed down but human triggering remains possible. A continued, conservative attitude is warranted as the snowpack is generally weak with a faceted base keeping deep persistent slabs on the problem list for the foreseeable future.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2

    Previous winds created wind slabs in lee features.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1.5–3

    The bottom of the snow pack is inherently weak with well developed Facets and Depth Hoar. Avalanches initiating in the upper snowpack are likely to step down to this layer and gain significant mass.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

There were no new avalanches observed on over the weekend on the icefields parkway. There was evidence of a natural cycle up to Size 3 on Friday. Some avalanches initiated with cornice failures or in a surface Wind Slab stepping down to the basal facets.

If you're out in the hills, don't forget to post to the MIN. Every bit of information helps

Snowpack Summary

5cm of new snow since Friday has been redistributed by SW wind creating wind slab in the alpine and on exposed features at tree line. There is a weak temperature crust below 1800m. A layer of surface hoar and facets is down 20-40cm in sheltered areas. Large facets and depth hoar comprise the bottom portion of the snowpack. Snowpack depths vary from 40-100cm.

Weather Summary

Tuesday - Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: High -9 °C.

Ridge wind southwest: 15 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Wednesday - Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: Low -11 °C, High -9 °C.

Ridge wind southwest: 10 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Thursday - A mix of sun and cloud.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: Low -14 °C, High -10 °C.

Ridge wind west: 10 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Detailed weather forecasts from Avalanche Canada: https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Regions covered