Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Feb 20 – 21, 2016Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Cooling temperatures and clear skies will make for great ice climbing conditions. Continue to be vigilant for windslabs lurking in recently loaded terrain such as gullies and ridge crests - human triggered avalanches are still possible.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1–2
    Windslabs appear to be bonding well, however caution is still warranted in immediate lees and cross loaded terrain above treeline.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Previously formed slabs now comprise the upper and mid-pack in many locations. Natural and human triggered avalanches are possible.

Weather Forecast

Cooling trend through the weekend, with freezing levels dropping to 900m with good recovery overnight with lows of -15C. Clear skies through the weekend with light to moderate Southwest winds. No new snow on the horizon until Sunday night, with only light flurries amounting to less than 5cm.

Snowpack Summary

Moderate SW winds have built wind slab at tree-line and above. These slabs may be up to 40cm thick. The mid-pack consists of buried wind and persistent slab with a failure plane down 60cms. In the valley bottom the snowpack is very week and unconsolidated making for tough trail breaking.

Avalanche Summary

Isolated loose dry slides to size 2.5 were observed out of steep rocky rocky terrain on solar aspects in the alpine on Friday.

Confidence

Regions covered