Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 12th, 2025–Feb 13th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper, Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.

The cold temperatures and brisk northerly winds should ease off on Thursday, but the wind slabs that formed will be sticking around a bit longer.

Carefully assess wind effected slopes if you're heading out into the hills.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A natural size 2 wind slab on the east face of Boundary Peak was observed on Feb 11. Small wind slabs were also easily triggered by skiers on moraine features in the same area.

Another natural size 2 wind slab was also observed below the ridge crest on "K2" (near Mount Kitchener) later that evening.

Snowpack Summary

The 10-25 cm from Feb 1st, mostly redistributed by wind, sits over top of a weak layer consisting of temperature crusts, winds slabs, or faceted snow. The midpack is weak and faceted. The early season crusts are faceting and breaking down but continue to persist along with large depth hoar at the base. The snowpack at tree line is 70-130 cm in the Icefields area and 50 cm in the Maligne area.

Weather Summary

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: High -10 °C.

Light ridge wind.

Friday

Cloudy with sunny periods.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: Low -17 °C, High -12 °C.

Ridge wind light to 15 km/h.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.