Jasper
Avalanche Forecast
Published: Jul 1st, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Published: Jun 28th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Published: Jun 1st, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Published: Jun 1st, 202593 South bound lane blocked (large bolder)
bignunlover7,
Tuesday 13th May, 2025 6:00AM
Athabasca North Face Bypass
5 cms on the glacier on the approach, considerable accumulation at the base of the North Face, our original goal. After encountering wind slab as we gained height below the face we diverted to the safer bypass slopes.
Significant spindrift and blowing snow throughout the day. No signs of snowpack instability seen during the day.
iwelsted,
Friday 9th May, 2025 8:00AM
Tangle Ridge
Mostly dry hiking trail to 2200m. Supportive and easy skinning from 2400m to summit. 5-10cm of 4F- on top of a solid crust. No signs of instability, wind and cloud kept things cool in the alpine. Snow was blowing and building wind slabs in the NE.
jackvanlierop3807,
Thursday 8th May, 2025 10:30AM
Parker’s Ridge
Colder day on Parker’s ridge, lots of moderate to strong westerly winds and some new snow(up to 15cm on lee aspects at 2300m) by 11:30 with intermittent snow squalls. This continued throughout the day. Wind slabs were starting to form on NE aspects near ridge top. Northern aspects still lack a strong crust.
Snow to the road on Parker’s, almost to the road on Athabasca/ Boundary. Very dry looking all the way to the toe of the sask glacier. Silverhorn still looks pretty icy and skyladder is non-existent.
jackvanlierop3807,
Thursday 8th May, 2025 10:30AM
Avalanche Forecast
Published: May 4th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Published: May 4th, 2025North Twin
On our wayout the Saskatchewan glacier vally was 80 percent walking. No freeze below 2400m. Windward slopes on the Columbia icefield are quite shallow.
Snow depths:
Top of Kitchener 10cm
Top of Snowdome 10 cm
Kitchener to Snowdome 150cm
Top of Studfields 0 cm
Sw rib down North Twin towards South Twin 0 to 100cm
Standard route towards the base of Twins 240cm plus
Camping site at top of Saskatchewan glacier at 2500m 280cm plus
Toe of Saskatchewan glacier 0 plus.
Notable creveases: top of north Twin. Across the east side of main peak of Studfields.
We tryed to go from North Twin to South twin but found very thin snow pack on the icy. Would recommend coming into South Twin low. South twin was quite icy.
Good freezes above 2700m the last 4 nights. Breakable crust on steep south aspects and wind affect everywhere else. Easy travel only used ski crampons for 15minutes.
We avoided the Athabasca headwall do to low snowpack and weak freezes and general creveasse risk. Quite a few parties taking the Saskatchewan approach.
Overall many areas with thin snow. I would always skin with the rope on and avoid unroped travel once surface crusts breakdown and snow becomes soft.
No new avalanches up high but numerous recent wet loose and wet slabs avalanches visible down the 93 N.
wardsbd,
Saturday 3rd May, 2025 1:00PM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs, Cornices.
Published: May 1st, 2025Parker’s ridge
Got some pow high up 2600m but mainly crusty icy
3rd tap from the elbow and it broke (very hard to shift, no propagation)
3-5cm top crust broke easily
thomasbiddlecombe,
Wednesday 30th April, 2025 10:40AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 29th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 29th, 2025Half a Mike Wynn Circuit
Attempted the Mike Wynn Circuit April 29th. Poor overnight refreeze to about 2200-2300m so the tree ascent was heinous. Above 2300m the surface crust was just supportive to skis and travel improved the higher we climbed. Around the 2400-2500m elevation the crust was supportive but mid pack was still moist.
The day was a mixed bag of weather with poor visibility up high with strong gusts and convective flurries. We turned around at the final slope to the col due to lack of visibility and the potential for building windslabs in the alpine. Lots of old natural avalanche activity in the area - even some natural logging done by a much larger avalanche, pouring over the first moraine feature.
Beautiful terrain - just save it for a good refreeze and clear skies!
colawinter,
Tuesday 29th April, 2025 9:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 28th, 2025Boundary Glacier
We aimed to ski the Boundary Glacier Circuit this morning. As we reached Boundary Lake, we experienced multiple whumpfs in the basal facets with propagation (visible wave and shooting cracks) up to 100 m. These continued as we ascended towards the toe of the glacier at 2300 m. At that location, the snowpack consisted of 3 cm of new snow over 5 cm of poorly crystallized melt freeze crust. Below this, the snow was isothermal moist facets. Foot penetration was to ground or your crotch, whichever happens first! Given the solar facing overhead hazard when climbing the Boundary Glacier, we listened to what the mountains were saying and turned tail. Observed a new- looking deep slab out of extreme terrain high on the east face of Mt Stutfield and a loose snow avalanche in motion on the same feature while driving home.
Craig Hartmetz,
Monday 28th April, 2025 7:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 27th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 26th, 2025Mt Wilson
« Skied » Wilson from the north on April 26th
No snow until above the water fall /cliff band you have to bypass
Above that good travel in the morning isothermal snow in the evening
The creek can still be crossed back and forth on some avalanche debris up high but some of the bridges are becoming thin and worrisome in the afternoon
Lot’s of dead fall in the forest down low made for hard bushwhacking
Cornices on the ridge can be easily bypassed on climbers right by staying close to rocks.
No open crevasses to navigate, probed between 130 and 250.
Crusty snow on the glacier
MATHURIN,
Saturday 26th April, 2025 9:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 25th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 25th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Deep Persistent Slabs, Wind Slabs.
Published: Apr 24th, 2025Mount Athabasca North Glacier
The Jasper field team circumnavigated the nunatak below the north face of Mount Athabasca, navigating through crevassed terrain and steep alpine slopes.
Travel below 2500 m was supportive and spring-like. Above this elevation, snow remained cool with 10–20 cm of soft snow requiring moderate to heavy trailbreaking. Trailbreaking conditions eventually transitioned to wind-affected snow where we observed isolated cracking and whumphing on wind-loaded features. Continued wind transport was visible along ridgetops throughout the day.
Glacier coverage varied significantly, ranging from 85 cm to over 300 cm depending on terrain features.
No significant new avalanche activity was observed in the surrounding alpine terrain or along the Icefields Parkway.
Parks Canada Visitor Safety,
Thursday 24th April, 2025 10:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 23rd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 22nd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 21st, 2025Parker Ridge
Beautiful day at Parker Ridge! The snow pack was supportive, light powder on top that got a little wet as the day went on.
Laurie Roy,
Sunday 20th April, 2025 10:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Apr 19th, 2025Athabasca ramp route
Just saw this from the road, unsure of date but it looked fresh and wasn't reported.
ariseguiding,
Saturday 19th April, 2025 12:00PM
Lovat Loop
Supportive crust with some windblown dust on top made for nice turns in the alpine. Cloud cover and cooler temps kept the ski out quick.
Patrick,
Saturday 19th April, 2025 10:00AM
Crevasse Fall, Athabasca Glacier
On April 18, Parks Canada Visitor Safety responded to a serious incident involving an unroped crevasse fall near the top of the Athabasca Glacier. A skier descending the glacier fell approximately 20 metres into a crevasse, sustaining significant injuries. The rescue was further complicated by numerous crevasses in the surrounding area.
This incident serves as an important reminder that spring conditions on glaciers present significant and often hidden hazards. While crevasses may be less visible at this time of year, snow bridges remain thin, weak, and unpredictable, having only recently formed over the past few weeks.
jaspervisitor.safety,
Friday 18th April, 2025 10:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Apr 17th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 16th, 2025Bald Hills
5 cm of new snow up at the bald hills overlies a supportive crust, which made for fast fun skiing today. The crust became less supportive at lower elevations and made for "hooky" skiing in some places.
We dug a snow pit at tree line and found a variety of crusts in the upper snowpack. The mid and lower snowpack was made up of facets and depth hoar. If you take your skis off you will likely sink up to your waist.
We stayed out of big terrain features because of how weak the lower snowpack is.
darren.farley,
Wednesday 16th April, 2025 12:00PM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Apr 15th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Apr 14th, 2025Dreamy snow and sky
Nice day on Boundary Peak, without any wind. Was -15 at 8 AM and warmed up to 0 degrees by 11:30. There's 5-20 cm of fresh snow overtop a very supportive wind/solar crust present at all elevations. No instabilities noted, and we were off the steeper slopes by 11 AM due to the strong solar effect.
sebastianek7,
Sunday 13th April, 2025 9:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 12th, 2025Parker Ridge
Incredible skiing with ~10 cm of storm snow on top of a bulletproof crust. Riding was variable in places but we found powder (and no sharks!). Small tests gave us confidence in the day and a quick dig near the top of the ridge to ground (~70 cm cover) didn't yield any deep facets, which was surprising.
PizzaCakeSki,
Saturday 12th April, 2025 8:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 11th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Apr 11th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Cornices.
Published: Apr 10th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Cornices.
Published: Apr 10th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Cornices.
Published: Apr 9th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Cornices.
Published: Apr 8th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Cornices.
Published: Apr 7th, 2025Pat Sheehan Descent
niallfink,
Monday 7th April, 2025 12:00PM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Cornices.
Published: Apr 6th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Cornices.
Published: Apr 6th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Cornices.
Published: Apr 5th, 2025Athabasca Glacier
Was attempting to ascend Athabasca Glacier to Mt Kitchener. By 10AM in the morning, the overhead hazard from Snowdome was releasing avalanches that extended across the normal up-path that proceeds under the seracs. See photos.
We attempted to find a path through the first and second icefalls that don't proceed directly under the seracs and avalanche paths. We could not find a path that doesn't require taking skis off and likely using boot crampons, on the 4 variations we attempted.
koob.mark,
Saturday 5th April, 2025 1:00PM
Bald Beach
High solar and no wind on Saturday. Everything above tree line was wet by 11am. Patches of fresh powder were found in the shade below tree line.
Patrick,
Saturday 5th April, 2025 10:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Cornices.
Published: Apr 4th, 2025Pyramid slide
NickL,
Friday 4th April, 2025 2:00PM
Parker ridge
Skied Parker ridge enjoying ~30cm of powder. HS varied across the ridge probing 340cm on the lower ridge and 115cm on the upper ridge.
Dug a pit on the lower ridge resulting in CTM 19 SC down 37cm on 1mm facets and on the upper ridge ECTP 11 down 40cm on 4mm surface hoar. Some wind scoured areas 30-40cm hs down low before the ridge
Overall great ski conditions
nathancox2004,
Friday 4th April, 2025 9:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Cornices.
Published: Apr 3rd, 2025Athabasca Glacier
April 3 2025 Mt Athabasca and the Athabasca Glacier
colawinter,
Thursday 3rd April, 2025 2:00PM
Destiney and Hilda Ridge
South Aspects have several crusts in the top 30cm. These crusts are affecting ski quality. Non-solar aspects have about 30cm of new snow in the alpine that is resulting in good skiing. Surface snow on south aspects is becoming moist with the powerful spring sun. A couple of large natural avalanches where observed recently. Be mindful of your overhead hazard. Dig down and test the persistant weak layers before committing to anything ski lines.
Parks Canada Visitor Safety,
Wednesday 2nd April, 2025 11:30PM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Deep Persistent Slabs, Storm Slabs, Loose Dry.
Published: Apr 2nd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Apr 1st, 2025Bald Hills
bit of powder above a crust
thomasbiddlecombe,
Tuesday 1st April, 2025 10:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Mar 31st, 2025Parker Ridge
Parker Ridge had great boot top powder skiing with minimal to no wind affect. There was a temperature crust up to 2000m but even that skied well. The skiing at Parker doesn't get much better than this.
We stayed away from any steep slopes or significant overhead hazard.
Large recent avalanches were noted across the valley. The sun is packing a punch so mind your overhead hazard.
timsjohnson,
Monday 31st March, 2025 2:00PM
Tangle ridge
noahbangle14,
Monday 31st March, 2025 9:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Mar 30th, 2025Mt Athabasca area photo
Had good visibility for a roadside photo of Mt Athabasca area after the stormy weather cleared out on Sunday.
jsweaterfuzz,
Sunday 30th March, 2025 3:00PM
Bald Hills
Nice day at Bald Hills. We saw evidence of a previous natural avalanche cycle up to size 2. There was a breakable sun crust everywhere except for northerly aspects but there hasn't been much wind, so the skiing is still quite good. On top of this sun crust is new surface hoar layer up to 1 cm that will likely become a problem when when it gets buried.
We dug a full snow profile at tree line and had sudden collapse results down 70 cm on facets. Overall the snowpack wasn't very confidence inspiring. In most places if you step off your skis you end up sinking in to your waist. We stuck to mellow slopes and avoided avalanche terrain.
darren.farley,
Sunday 30th March, 2025 2:00PM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet.
Published: Mar 29th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 28th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 27th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Persistent Slabs, Loose Wet, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 27th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Storm Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 26th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 25th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Loose Wet, Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 24th, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 23rd, 2025Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 23rd, 2025Keeping it simple
Headed up the Lovat Scout trail. Trail is in great condition and even stepping off the skin track wasn’t awful.
Ski pen off trail was 5-10cm, apart from the odd wallowy step here & there. Overall fairly supportive. Foot pen was supportive until it wasn’t and then it was up to waist deep.
Noted either a crust/harder layer down 20-30cm and then garbage sugary snow below. Average depth of snow was 130cm around 2100m. Snow became more wind affected at ridgecrest with a 2-3cm surface windslab.
We skied southeast facing slopes less than 30 degrees and stayed away from any overhead hazard. Skiing was soft and creamy!
Weather was warm and sunny when we left the car at midday but soon the clouds rolled in and it was lightly snowing for the rest of the afternoon with light winds.
No whumphing or cracking and we didn't observe any natural activity in the surrounding area. Kept it simple and still had a lovely little adventure.
colawinter,
Sunday 23rd March, 2025 11:00AM
Avalanche Forecast
Problems: Wind Slabs, Persistent Slabs, Deep Persistent Slabs.
Published: Mar 22nd, 2025Bring your fat skis and skinny thoughts
If you can stay on top of the snow it's skiing pretty nice. Did a couple of mellow loser laps at treeline. At 2150m snow pack is 100-120cm deep. Ski penetration 30cm, foot penetration 80cm. 10cm of unconsolidated new snow(dry, low density) on top of a 10cm of F+ to 4F layer and then facets and depth hoar to ground. Calm to light wind, snowing S1.
AndrewfromJasper,
Sunday 9th March, 2025 2:00PM
Fryatt
Annual Fryatt trip started off a lot less snowy than it finished. Walked first few kilometers after river crossing. Able to skin from first campground onwards. On the way in on Friday skinning in the valley was on top of a 5cm breakable crust with ~30-50cm of facets underneath. Headwall was treacherous as always.
Up top snow and wind started Friday night and continued until Sunday morning, at times snowing up to S2. Roughly 30cm of accumulation. Winds were moderate gusting strong throughout the weekend. Cloudy, temps warm likely around -4/5.
Due to elevating avalanche hazard skied a couple low angle pitches which were fun and supportive, and some steep dense trees watching out for sharks.
On the way out snow accumulation declined gradually as we went from TL to BTL with only 2 or 3cm by the time we hit the highway. Snow moisture content also gradually increased as we descended, with snow being quite wet and heavy in the valley below the hut.
Noted one wet slab that ran full path to valley bottom, sz 2.5, north aspect, in a gully type feature. Visibility was limited but likely more avalanche activity around.
Great weekend with the fellas.
Youngbloodben,
Saturday 8th March, 2025 11:00PM
Destiny Ridge
The 20-30cm of recent storm snow in the Hilda area provided remarkably good skiing in the alpine. Getting up to the alpine was hard work in a weak and unconsolidated below treeline snowpack. There was minimal indication of an unstable snowpack, just one whumph that ran out less than 5m on Destiny Ridge.
rupertw,
Tuesday 25th February, 2025 10:00AM
Fryatt Valley
Valley bottom had a very thin snow pack. Above the head wall we had deep enough & soft snow in the trees, and sun crusty snow on facets in the alpine / open bowls.
sagerandle,
Wednesday 19th February, 2025 11:00PM
Hilda Subpeak
Ok day out on hilda. Skiing in the alpine varies between hard wind slab, breakable crust, and facet “pow”. Skiing in the trees was a bit better. Stability felt good. Warmed up in afternoon. Not much snow out there.
coleg.anderson9658,
Tuesday 18th February, 2025 5:00PM
Bald Hills
Beautiful day at Bald Hills. There's been much less wind affect here than at the Icefields. There was a size two wind slab on a steep roll that looks like it was from the previous 24 hours. The snowpack in the area is quite variable. There are a variety of facet layers, wind slabs and crusts in the upper snowpack. One snowpit we dug had no notable shear. The other that is posted here had the extended column fail relatively easily. Good idea to treat each new slope with caution and do some investigation before committing.
darren.farley,
Tuesday 18th February, 2025 3:00PM
Destiny's Ridge
Went for the views, stayed for the terrible ski.
Skied the lookers left gully in hopes to find better snow in the lower section of the slope. We did not find any. 3-5cm ankle grabbing WSL top to bottom.
Notable widespread surface hoar up to 1cm in sheltered areas at Alp. There also appeared to be a small solar crusts in some areas burried under SH.
Potential for more SH developing tonight after the warm sun output today.
No signs of new avalanches observed.
valdes.kj18,
Tuesday 18th February, 2025 9:00AM
Parkers Loop
Rode a steep, narrow, south aspect chute on the backside of parkers yesterday.
Route up to parkers summit was fast on account of the very hard conditions.
On the south aspect itself we found a suncrust (down 5-30cms depending on loading) in various stages of decomposition from recent cold temperatures. Above the crust we saw a 2cm layer of noticeably larger facets with the new wind slab above (also breaking down where it is thinner).
We triggered a small pocket of WSL max 30cms deep <sz 1 in a loaded pocket below the twin ribs in the photos which failed on the larger facets. In the "track" the debris entrained this new faceting windlab sitting ontop of the crust.
In areas of heavy loading I expect this WSL would have the potential to propagate into something bigger with the crust facet combo being a good sliding surface.
Skiing where the WSL has faceted out was actually quite good if that's your thing.
Traversed across the bench at the backside of parkers and popped out on the ridge itself for some white knuckle skiing back to the parking lot.
Great little loop. Maybe one for the spring.
aerialotter,
Saturday 15th February, 2025 10:00AM
Shangrila
Spent Feb 11-13 at Shangrila Cabin. Found expected wind affect in the alpine with evidence of the persistent north wind and some atypical loading zones. Riding was good in sheltered zones, but the summits of Sunset, Aberhart, and Lovat (Trowel) were wind stripped as expected and required boot packing. Noted one size 1.5-2 wind slab that appeared to have failed from a cornice trigger on a northeast aspect.
stevencameronnoel,
Tuesday 11th February, 2025 11:00PM
Shangrila
Spent Feb 11-13 at Shangrila Cabin. Found expected wind affect in the alpine with evidence of the persistent north wind and some atypical loading zones. Riding was good in sheltered zones, but the summits of Sunset, Aberhart, and Lovat (Trowel) were wind stripped as expected and required boot packing. Noted one size 1.5-2 wind slab that appeared to have failed from a cornice trigger on a northeast aspect.
stevencameronnoel,
Tuesday 11th February, 2025 11:00PM
Bald Hills
There was an avalanche that occurred roughly 3-4 days ago on the N- NE aspect slope of baldy viewpoint. There is a cornice forming overtop of the slab avalanche area
ialindop,
Sunday 9th February, 2025 7:00AM
Hope you like wind slab
Heavy wind affect on Parker Ridge, as expected. We were able to do an alpine traverse from Hilda Hut to the far summit of Parker Ridge staying on skis - although snow coverage in some spots was very low. Wind slabs in the alpine everywhere thanks to the continuous strong winds. Skiing down the Parker trail was crusty up top, with some nicer powder low down in the trees.
A group of 3 in our larger group went up Hilda Ridge and reported poor ski conditions (crusty, wind affected, cold, etc... Do you sense a trend here??). They had eyed up Destiny Ridge but did not like the look of the wind affected alpine slopes.
Today went up Nigel basin directly east of the hut. Difficult trailbreaking through faceted snow in the dense forest. Nice powder at treeline with wind affect everywhere in the alpine, but great sunshine all day long. We skied the gully on the east side of the valley which worked well apart from the unsupportive snow base, which meant breaking trail while skiing downhill.
Nice sunny days, great company, but the skiing was not good. Is there any more snow forecasted any time soon??
brendan.clark,
Saturday 8th February, 2025 11:00PM
Signal Mountain Conditions
Went for a ski up Signal Mountain today. Lots of scouring on the ridges and windward slopes from the previous winds. Travel here is basically skinning on rocks and we took our skis off and walked some sections. Some soft snow can be found in sheltered lee areas and the skiing here was great! Snowpack is supportive to skis at treeline with 10cm soft snow on top. Did not ski below treeline.
Parks Canada Visitor Safety,
Thursday 6th February, 2025 2:00PM
AST1 Course
Conducted my last AST1 course for the season for Jasper Hikes & Tours today. Despite the warm and sunny forecast, it remained cloudy all day with temperatures starting off at -12C and rising to just above 0C in the parking lot. Strong NW ridgetop winds were observed to the N of the Bald Hills area but winds locally remained light from the SW-NW, keeping the surface snow cool and dry.
A generally weak and facetted snowpack was observed in our snow profile with large depth hoar crystals visible at the bottom of the snowpack and widespread surface hoar (4-8mm) on the surface in sheltered areas throughout the Bald Hills area (did not obs. the ALP). See results below:
2150m, N-facing, 28 deg.
HS 70cm
CTE3(SP) dn 8 on FC
ECTN3 dn 8 on FC
* Of note, there is a brazen Pine Marten in the parking lot that is getting into people's vehicles. Parks has been notified but until they get to it, keep your doors shut!
sprockter,
Tuesday 28th January, 2025 12:00PM
Parkers
Parkers was hammered on friday. Strong winds from the N/NW all day with little respite. Lots of blowing snow everywhere above treeline. Reverse loading in the alpine and treeline with windward slopes stripped to old hard surfaces and SW through to SE faces seeing decent loading. 1F to P windslab on these aspects seemed pretty stubborn. Surprisingly found some "good" skiing in sheltered alpine features which was short lived. Temps from -5 to -9, no new precip and no new naturals.
aerialotter,
Friday 24th January, 2025 6:00PM
Nigel Basin
Went for a ski in the Nigel Basin today. -21 in the morning but warmed up to -7. The snowpack below tree line is very faceted and not supportive. Trail breaking and skiing is doable but not great. There is widespread wind effect in the alpine and at tree line but some soft snow can still be found. We dug a snow profile at tree line and almost all of the entire 100cm snowpack was made up very loose (fist density) facets. In the alpine we found lots of wind slabs sitting on top of these facets. We had numerous Whumphs and some cracking. We avoided any real avalanche terrain at tree line and above.
darren.farley,
Monday 20th January, 2025 1:00PM
Frigid weekend at wind hammered Hilda
Spent the weekend at Hilda hut with the intention to checkniut Destiny Ridge and Alpine Connector to Parker's Ridge. Frigid cold temps with the windchill in the alpine and solid, wind hammered slopes kept us mainly at treeline and below. Snow and decent turns still to be found below treeline, but lots of sharks lurking everywhere. No signs of instability noted or signs of recent avalanches.
emma.pettey,
Sunday 19th January, 2025 1:00PM
Hilda
Great day up at hilda, surprised by Temps and Ski quality.
-16 @ the car, start and end of the day.
Mostly clear all day with mod to strong winds from the north consistantly transporting snow @ 2800m+.
South aspects skied well with thin wind skin up high, dissappearing at ~2200m. Great coverage throughout.
Couple of test pits and hastys gave unrepeatable results on a new 4F wsl and on one of the Oct crusts which are deteriorating.
Natural loose dry avalanches to size 1 from steep N aspects and small windslab results on multiple aspects below Ridgecrest or crossloaded features to size 1.5. All in the last 24 hrs.
aerialotter,
Saturday 18th January, 2025 11:00PM
Churchill Bushwhack
Went for a little walk to check out Churchill slide paths. The creek is crossable but then the willow wacking begins. Average 35cm up to 1700m at which point we turned around. Praise Ullr for more snow!
colawinter,
Saturday 18th January, 2025 11:00AM
Bald Hills
Bald hills consisted of wind slab about 10cm below the fresh snow. The slopes on the N and NE sides contained soft powder. The peak and ridge line consisted of wind slabs that were firm enough to walk on as well as deep persistent slabs roughly 60cm below the surface of the snow. Below the deep persistent slab consisted of a grainy facet layer between the base and the persistent slab. Wind was consistently around 2-4km/hr until the sun started to poke through the clouds there were minimal small gusts around 10-12km/hr. Tree line was great for skiing some fresh powder. I did not dig a snow pit, I just probed with my ski poles to compete an informal snow profile test, walked through in non tracked areas to feel the snow.
ialindop,
Sunday 12th January, 2025 7:00AM