Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 24th, 2024–Mar 25th, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Thick-to-thin trigger points and areas where the mid-March crust is not supportive to boots or skis are suspect.Avoid overhead hazards in the afternoon as the sun is starting to pack a punch these days.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Small solar triggered sluffs reported by the public on Friday.Maligne area field patrol observed no new natural avalanche activity today .

Snowpack Summary

Thin sun crust present on steep solar slopes at all elevations. Elsewhere, about 10cm of soft snow on top of 2-10cm melt freeze crust on Wednesday. The Feb 3rd crust interface is down 35-60cm. Basal depth hoar makes up the bottom third of the snowpack. HS ranges from 50 to 150cm.

Weather Summary

Mountain Weather Forecast is available @ Avalanche Canada https://avalanche.ca/weather/forecast

Monday: A mix of sun and cloud. Precipitation: Nil. Alpine temperature: High -4 °C. Ridge wind west: 10-20 km/h. Freezing level: 1800 metres.Tuesday: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temp: High -4 °C. Ridge wind west: 10-25 km/h. Freezing level: 1700 metres.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Even a small avalanche can be harmful if it pushes you into an obstacle or a terrain trap.
Avoid steep slopes when air temperatures are warm, or solar radiation is strong.

Problems

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.

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.