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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 30th, 2019–May 1st, 2019

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

Regions

Jasper.

New snow may hide previously obvious windslabs on solar aspects. Facets and upper snowpack crusts persist on all aspects.

Weather Forecast

Snowfall arriving. Forecast models disagree on amounts(5-35cm by the weekend), but align more on winds (light-moderate Westerlies) and freezing levels.

Weds: Cloud, light snow developing. Freezing level 1600m, treeline high -4, light-mod Westerlies.

Thur: Overnight snow eases to flurries. Freezing Level 1900m, Treeline High -2. Light winds.

Snowpack Summary

Wind Slabs lee to N winds linger over sun crusts on solar aspects in the alpine, and in wind-prone treeline areas. Low density cold snow remains in wind/sun sheltered terrain, particularly in Easterly ranges and near the Icefields. A buried facet layer on shady alpine slopes remains a concern; giving easy/sudden test results just SW of our region.

Avalanche Summary

No patrol Tuesday.  To the South of our region (Bow Summit), 2 large (size 2 - 2.5) persistent slabs were remotely triggered on alpine SW aspects Tuesday.  On Sunday, 1 Large (sz 2.5) Persistent slab was observed in the Maligne Range on an East aspect, in convex alpine terrain.

Confidence

Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

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.

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.