Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 3rd, 2025–Jan 4th, 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.

Good skiing conditions can be found in areas with sufficient snow coverage, but deeper instabilities remain a significant concern despite a decrease in natural avalanche activity.

No major changes to the avalanche hazard are expected over the next few days.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several explosives triggered Deep Persistent Slabs, up to size 2, were reported by the ski hill on Wednesday. A good reminder that this problem is not going away, and triggering full depth avalanches is still a possibility.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10cm of new snow has fallen this week 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

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud.

Precipitation: Nil.

Alpine temperature: High -7 °C.

Ridge wind light to 20 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

Sunday

Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries.

Precipitation: Trace.

Alpine temperature: Low -9 °C, High -8 °C.

Ridge wind light to 15 km/h.

Freezing level at valley bottom.

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.
Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.

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.