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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 4th, 2016–Mar 5th, 2016

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

Regions

Jasper.

Weather Forecast

Light scattered flurries throughout the weekend, amounting to 10cm by Sunday evening. Temperatures to remain cool above treeline, with good overnight recovery. Winds expected to be in the moderate range from the Southwest, gusting to strong. Freezing levels will creep up to 2100m during the heat of the day.

Snowpack Summary

New thin wind slab on lee and crossloaded terrain above 2000m. Persistent weak layer down 40-70cm remains a concern but has been dormant of late. Snowpack is facetted at lower elevations, making for difficult travel. Depth hoar is widespread and is a potential sliding layer with large triggers such as cornice fall or other avalanches.

Avalanche Summary

Several reports of remotely triggered slab avalanches in the alpine in wind loaded areas up to size 2 over the past 72 hours. These slides went on old snow and are especially prevalent in areas that have not seen skier traffic this winter.

Confidence

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.