Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 9th, 2024–Jan 10th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

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.

Extremely Cold temperatures are here and will persist for the near future.

This cold will speed up the facetting process and further weaken our shallow snowpack.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

1 isolated avalanche was observed on the backside of the ski hill, Marmot 2.

No other avalanches were observed in fieldwork on the Parkway today.

Please consider submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

10cm of recent snowfall has been redistributed by moderate winds again exposing ice, rocky ridges, and terrain features, in the Icefields. This makes a structurally weak slab, over deep, faceted, and well-developed depth hoar chains at the base. Sheltered areas have an average snow depth of ~45-75 cm.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Overnight:

The North winds are in Jasper and will continue south with numbing cold.

Wednesday

Mainly cloudy with crystal flurries. Alpine High: -23

Thursday

Cloudy with sunny periods. Alpine high -35 °C.

The Mountain Weather Forecast is available at Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

Terrain and Travel Advice

Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the surface.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.