Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Feb 21 – 22, 2016Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 11 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

Cool temperatures and minimal precipitation expected over the next few days. Be wary of big steep slopes in the alpine, particularly shallow areas with slab over facets. Human triggering is 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
    Persistent weak layers of decomposed surface hoar, facets, and depth hoar can be found in many locations. Although these layers have been dormant lately, careful slope evaluation is essential. Be cautious of shallow areas with slab over facets.

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 60cm that is producing mostly resistant planar results in tests. In the valley bottom the snowpack is weak and unconsolidated making for tough trail breaking.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed today.

Confidence

Regions covered