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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 7th, 2022–Jan 8th, 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 unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Jasper.

Strong to extreme winds expected to build hard slabs throughout the weekend.

Sheltered areas still have plenty of turns to offer. Alpine might not be the most pleasant place to be.

"It's windy, but at least it's cold"

Weather Forecast

Saturday: Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temperature: High -18 °C. Ridge wind southwest: 20 km/h.

Sunday: Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temperature: Low -17 °C, High -8 °C. Ridge wind west: 35 km/h.

Alpine temperature inversion. Monday: Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temperature: Low -11 °C, High -7 °C. Ridge wind southwest: 30 km/h. Freezing level at VB.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow and increasing winds contributing to wind slabs building in deposition zones. The mid-pack is supportive with a questionable interface (Dec 1st layer ) down close to 40cm, which has questionable reactivity below 1900m. Basal faceting continues near or on the ground.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches observed or reported today.

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.

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.