Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Nov 25 – 26, 2012Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 14 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sun
Mon
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Good skiing can be found in sheltered areas, but careful snowpack evaluation is necessary to determine if there are previous wind slabs buried under the new snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Numerous natural slab avalanches have been observed in the past 48hrs, mostly in wind loaded features above 2300m. The predominant Southerly winds make the Northern aspects the prime suspect for new windslab formation.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Previous wind slabs can be found buried beneath the recent storm snow on lee aspects in exposed terrain.

Weather Forecast

Scattered light precipitation expected through the weekend with light westerly winds. Freezing levels to stay low and temps consistent in the -5 to -10 range.

Snowpack Summary

10cm in the past 24 hours brings the 5 day total to over 50cm at treeline elevation. This is a significant load on the November snowpack and may increase the likelihood of triggering persistent slabs that are buried under storm snow.  New windslabs can be found on exposed Northerly aspects.

Avalanche Summary

Marmot Basin reported several new natural slab avalanches on North aspects above 2200m. These slabs were roughly 10-30cm thick and in the size 1-2.5 range.

Confidence

Due to the number of field observations

Regions covered