Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 15th, 2014–Mar 16th, 2014

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Jasper.

Snowfall warning in effect for the Icefields and Lake Louise area. The ski hill or safe ice climbing venues could be a good option for tomorrow.

Weather Forecast

Snowfall warning in effect for the Icefields area and Lake Louise. Forecast models are giving up to 30cm of snow starting Saturday night through to Monday with strong south westerly winds. Heavy drifting is likely at tree-line and alpine elevations.

Snowpack Summary

Touchy slab conditions exist at tree-line and sub-alpine elevations. Large cornices continue to grow along ridge lines. The alpine is generally scoured old snow or hard wind slabs.

Avalanche Summary

Two ski tourers triggered a size 2.5 which failed on the February 10th facet layer in Whistler Creek yesterday. Of note was that the slide was triggered from a shallow rocky area, stepped down to the basal facet layer and was in a cross wind loaded feature at tree-line. Field teams earlier in the week remotely triggered several slabs at tree-line.

Confidence

Problems

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.

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.