Avalanche forecast

Jasper

Feb 22 – 23, 2019Parks Canada
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Archived · expired 8 years ago

Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

First spring-like hit of sun on Thursday. Solar initiated dry and moist loose slides probable on solar aspects (SE through W; eg. Weeping Wall). Keep aware for localized signs of increasing hazard! Time to consider an earlier start to your day?

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Dry

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2
    The sun will act as a trigger to initiate the loose unconsolidated surface snow particularly in steep rocky terrain near and above ice climbs.

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3
    It is possible to trigger deep slabs in shallow snowpack areas. Terrain management and assessment is critical to a safe day.

Avalanche Summary

Field team reporting dry loose from steep Alpine terrain and thin (5cm), but present soft wind effect at immediate ridge top; reactive to skis but not alarming or hazardous. 2600m near Cataract Pass in the Columbia Icefields region. No other reports of new avalanche activity.

Confidence

Weather Forecast

Friday, expect cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Ppt Trace. Alp High -12 C. Light N gusting to 35 Saturday. Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Alp Low -24 C, High -15 C. Ridge wind east: 10 km/h.FzL VB.Mountain weather forecast available at Avalanche Canada.

Snowpack Summary

The upper snowpack is faceted creating a weak slab over a faint, inconsistent layer of surface hoar/facets on a crust down 40cm. The thicker snowpack spots have a strong mid-pack bridging the deep persistent basal weakness of depth hoar. Thinner snow-pack zones are much less consolidated and can act as a slab triggering the basal depth hoar.

Regions covered