Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Miette Lake.
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.
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.
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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.
Avalanche Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
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.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Unlikely - Possible
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3
Wind Slabs
Previous winds created wind slabs in lee features.
Aspects: North, North East, East, North West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2