It's a great year to be an ice climber as ice conditions are fantastic in the Jasper area.
Weather Forecast
Expect highs around -14 and cold lows with light SW winds. No snow through the weekend but 10 cm possible on Monday. The bitter cold returns and will continue through next week.
Snowpack Summary
The snowpack is shallow, faceted and weak. The Nov. crust can still be found about 30 cm from ground but is faceting into large depth hoar. The upper half of the snowpack has layers of wind slabs.
Avalanche Summary
Small loose dry avalanches were reported in the Maligne Lake area on Friday out of steep rock slab alpine features.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations on Saturday
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.
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.