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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 2nd, 2022–Feb 3rd, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper.

Strong to extreme southwest winds and new snow on Friday adding to slab problem in the alpine and tree line. Snowpack is variable - dig and test to see what's happening where you are. Maligne road forecast to open mid day Thurs - 511 for updates.

Weather Forecast

Thursday: Cloudy isolated flurries. Alpine temp: High -10 C. Wind west 20 km/hr.

Friday: Flurries - up to 9cm. Alpine temp: Low -9 C, High -7 C. Wind west 30 gust 85 km/hr.

Saturday: Variable cloud isolated flurries. Alpine temp: Low -14 C, High -11 C. Wind west 20 gust 50 km/hr.

Snowpack Summary

New snow with previous N and present SW winds building slabs in alpine and tree line lee features. Varied wind effect at all elevations. Snowpack is facetted and complex. Buried surface hoar found in isolated locations; December facet layers down 20-40cm still reactive in tests. Upslope storm last Sunday produced up to 35cm in the Maligne Range.

Avalanche Summary

Explosive control Wednesday produced several avalanches up to size 1 dry loose and size 2 wind slab Medicine lake area.

Confidence

Problems

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.