Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 1st, 2025–Jan 2nd, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Avoid steep terrain where a stiffer slab overlies a weak facetted base (wind loaded features are prime suspects).

Triggering a Deep Persistent Slab avalanche remains our main concern.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been observed or reported in the last few days.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10cm of new snow has fallen with generally very light winds.

The snowpack is mostly made up of facets and ranges in depth from 60 to 120 cm at treeline and above. At the bottom of the snowpack there are multiple early season crusts with facets above and below.

Weather Summary

Thursday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: High -13 °C.

Ridge wind west: 10-25 km/h.

Friday

Cloudy with sunny periods.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: Low -13 °C, High -6 °C.

Light ridge wind.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

Problems

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.