Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 29th, 2023–Mar 30th, 2023

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

A reminder to use good travel techniques like spacing out or skiing a line one at a time if you are stepping out into bigger and more serious terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Sporadic avalanches are still occurring throughout the region. On Tuesday a size 2 avalanche ran in the Churchill North Slide path to tree line.

Don't forget to post avalanche observations to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Sun crust at all elevations on solar aspects. Unsupportive facets on polar aspects in shallower snowpack areas. Basal facets and depth hoar make up the base of the snowpack. Snow depth varies ranges from 60-170cm.

Weather Summary

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: High -2 °C.

Ridge wind southwest: 10 km/h.

Freezing level: 1900 metres.

Friday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: Low -9 °C, High -6 °C.

Ridge wind southwest: 15 km/h gusting to 40 km/h.

Freezing level: 1400 metres.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Watch for unstable snow on specific terrain features, especially when the snow is moist or wet.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.