Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 29th, 2024–Mar 30th, 2024

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, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

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

Wind slabs are slowly developing and the persistent slab problem remains a concern. Avoid shallow snowpack areas where triggering a persistent slab is most likely and be aware that even a small wind slab could step down, triggering a persistent slab.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity reported on Friday.

A size 2 natural persistent slab avalanche was observed on Mt. Churchill on Monday.

On Sunday, 7 skiers remote triggered a size 2 slab from 100m away in the Boundary peak area. Avalanche occurred in a thin rocky spot, alpine, N aspect, 2250m elevation, 35 degree slope, and slid on the Feb 3rd facets/crust layer. The group triggered it from the bench above

Snowpack Summary

10cm of recent storm snow sits over a sun crust on solar aspects. Shaded aspects have up to 30cm of dry snow. The March 19 crust is buried 20-30cm deep and is present everywhere except North aspects above 1900m. The Feb 3rd crust interface is down 30-90cm. Basal depth hoar and facets make up the bottom of the snowpack. HS ranges from 50 to 150cm.

Weather Summary

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

Saturday Cloudy with sunny periods. No precipitation. Alpine high -6 °C. Ridge wind west 10-20 km/h. Freezing level 1500m.

Sunday Mix of sun & cloud. Alpine High -5 °C. Ridge wind west 10-20

Monday Cloudy with sunny periods/ isolated flurries. No precipitation. Alpine High -1. Wind west 15 gusting to 40.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Conditions may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.
If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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.