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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 23rd, 2015–Dec 24th, 2015

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.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper.

Weather Forecast

Temperatures remaining cool in the -15 to -20 range. No precipitation expected before the weekend. Winds will be generally light and westerly. Expect stronger winds in the alpine and at ridge tops.

Snowpack Summary

Generally supportive and well settled snowpack above 1700m. Expect thin wind slabs in the alpine on the lee side of wind exposed terrain. The Dec 3 interface down 60cm appears to be bonding well. Snowpack continues to facet with recent cold temperatures. The base of the snowpack is weakening.

Avalanche Summary

In the past 24hrs there has been one new observation of a class 2 slab avalanche from steep alpine NE facing terrain which was triggered by a large cornice failure in the icefields area.

Confidence

The weather pattern is stable on Friday

Problems

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.

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.