Recent snow has improved ski conditions at the Icefields. Lingering wind slabs exist and there is significant uncertainty around the October crust, which lurks at the base of the snowpack.
It’s a good time to let the snowpack form and take a conservative approach to early-season fun.
Be mindful of newly formed windslabs if the wind picks up. Older windslabs are also still present and could be sitting on a crust or facets, which may increase their potential for triggering.
The Oct 18 crust is found just above the ground with weak facets above and below it. There’s uncertainty around its distribution and triggerability. More activity has been observed to the south of JNP, but limited observations make it hard to predict when and where it may be a problem.
10-20 cms of recent storm snow sits on old windslabs and a faceted midpack. There is a thin crust 20-30cm below the surface, as well as a notable 5-15 cm thick crust from October near the base of the snowpack, surrounded by facets above and below. There is a lot of uncertainty about what it will take to trigger this layer.
Snow depth at Treeline is approximately 70 cm tapering off rapidly below. In the Alpine there is around 80 cm with variability due to wind redistributing the snow.
Tuesday
Cloudy with sunny periods. Low -15 °C and a High -11 °C with winds from the west 10 km/h.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Trace precipitation. Low -16 °C, High -11 °C with winds from the west: 10-25 km/h.
Thursday
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Trace precipitation. Alpine temperature: Low -17 °C, High -12 °C with winds from the southwest: 10 km/h.
Several size 1 loose dry avalanches out of steep rocky terrain were reported Saturday as the sun poked out. One of these pulled a sz. 1.5 windslab.
On Sunday, ski hills south of Jasper National Park reported two size 2 natural avalanches and two size two explosive triggered avalanches. All of these avalanches ran on the October crust at the bottom of the snowpack.
