Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Jasper, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.
There will be short term closures for Avalanche Control on the Icefields Parkway on Friday March 14th. Check 511.
20-30cm of snow fell over Jasper on Thursday. Use caution as the snowpack has almost doubled in the past week.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
No new Avalanches were observed on Thurdsay due to poor visibility. On Monday, observations on the Icefields Parkway corridor revealed widespread natural avalanche activity from during the storm. Large slab avalanches, up to size 3.5, consisted of a mix of storm slab and persistent slab, with occasional step-downs to deeper instabilities.
Snowpack Summary
A further 20-30cm cm of new snow fell on Thursday brining new snowfall amounts to around 70-80cm. Below this fresh snow, the snowpack is complex, with multiple crusts and facet layers creating persistent weak layers. The bottom of the snowpack consists primarily of weak facets and depth hoar.
Weather Summary
Friday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: High -11 °C.
Ridge wind west: 10-25 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Saturday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.
Precipitation: Trace.
Alpine temperature: Low -19 °C, High -9 °C.
Ridge wind southwest: 10-20 km/h.
Freezing level at valley bottom.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Use conservative route selection. Choose simple, low angle terrain with no overhead hazard.
- Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.
- Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
This avalanche problem is associated with a weak facet and crust layer, buried at the end of January, down approximately 70cm in sheltered areas. This also includes a crust layer formed in early March below the recent storm snow most prominent on solar aspects.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1.5 - 3
Deep Persistent Slabs
Well developed facets and depth hoar at the bottom of the snow pack are still producing large avalanches in our region. Several large natural deep persistent slab avalanches released during or immediately after the storm.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5
Wind Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2.5