Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 13th, 2024–Apr 14th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Jasper, Brazeau, Churchill, Cirrus-Wilson, Fryatt, Icefields, Maligne, Marmot, Miette Lake, Pyramid.

Sunny skies and high freezing levels are forcasted for Sunday. Start early and end early to take advantage of the overnight freeze.

It's still winter up high though; expect to find wind slabs on lee features in the alpine.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche observations.

Snowpack Summary

10-20cm of recent snow has been redistributed by South to SW winds in the Alpine. It is still very much winter conditions above 2800m. Solar slopes and all aspects at tree line and below have a plethora of crusts in the upper snow pack. The Feb 3 PWL is down 40-100cm and remains a concern on shaded aspects above 2400m. The basal depth hoar/facets are gaining strength in deeper snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Mountain Weather Forecast is available at Avalanche Canada

Sunday

A mix of sun & cloud. Alpine temps: High 2 °C. Wind southwest: 10-25 km/h. Freezing level: 2400m.

Monday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Wind west: 15-30 km/h. Freezing level: 1800m.

Tuesday

Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries (4cm). Wind northwest: 15 km/h gusting to 45 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.