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, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Regions
Jasper.
Remember a Moderate rating still means human triggering remains possible. A thick supportive mid-pack is critical to safe travel. Shallow snowpack areas are more prone to trigger. Ice climbers must be vigilant for loose dry avalanches in gullies.
Weather Forecast
Monday will be a mix of sun and cloud, no precipitation, alpine temperatures high -15 C, and light ridge winds. Tuesday will be sunny periods with isolated flurries, trace precipitation, alpine temperature low -22 C and high -14 C with light ridge winds. A detailed mountain weather forecast is available from Avalanche Canada.
Snowpack Summary
50cm from Feb 2nd was followed by strong N winds and cold temperatures. This snow overlies a dormant but persistent weakness of surface hoar, crusts, and/or facets. Cold temps have weakened the structure of the slab over this layer and it's generally dormant, for now. A basal depth hoar weakness exists especially shallow areas.
Avalanche Summary
A flight from Jasper to Kinbasket lake on Sunday observed very little new activity. A natural slab avalanche (Sz 2.5) was observed on a NW aspect, 2400m above Maligne Lake on Saturday.On Feb 7th, a size 2 deep persistent slab was triggered by skiers in the Maligne area on a W aspect, 1950m, on a 30 degree slope.
Confidence
Problems
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.
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.