Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Mar 20 – 21, 2018Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

Thu
Fri
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Be mindful of solar radiation, even on partly cloudy days.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2.5
    Windslabs sit on a hard melt-freeze crust on solar aspects, and facets on polar aspects. Shaded slopes have been more reactive. Assess the bond at these interfaces carefully before committing to avalanche start zones.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–1.5
    Watch for snowpack to become reactive if the sun comes out.

Weather Forecast

Chance of an upslope storm on Thur evening with warmer temps and winds from the SE. Tonight freezing level to valley bottom. Wednesday cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Freezing level: 1800 m. Alpine high -1 C. Ridge wind south: 10-25 km/h. Warmer on Thursday with up to up to 10cm overnight and into Friday.

Snowpack Summary

10-15cm of dense snow with moderate winds this week has created windslabs in lee features treeline and above. These windslabs are reactive on cooler, shaded aspects where they formed on a faceted surface. Loose wet slides are occurring below treeline in the late afternoon (particularly with direct sun) due to an increasingly isothermal snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

Road patrol Tuesday noted loose wet avalanches to size one below treeline. An isolated loose, dry avalanche that ran size 2 was observed from steep terrain at 2400m on a shaded aspect near Parker Ridge and a field team triggered a size 1.5 windslab avalanche on moderate terrain on Mt. Kitchener at 3100m (60m wide, 60m long, 20-40cm deep crown).

Confidence

Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Thursday

Regions covered