Avalanche forecast

South Columbia

Mar 8, 2018Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 9 years ago

Avalanche danger

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

Give cornices a respectful berth.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2
    New snow and wind may build new wind slabs. Stay well away from large looming cornices.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1.5–3
    Persistent slabs are most likely to be triggered with a large load like cornice fall; or by a person in a thin or variable-depth snowpack spot.

Confidence

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Thursday

Weather Forecast

THURSDAY: Cloudy. Around 10-15 cm snow. Treeline temperature near -4. Moderate southerly winds.FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Treeline temperature near -3. Light winds.SATURDAY: Mainly sunny. Treeline temperature near -1. Light winds.

Avalanche Summary

A natural cycle of size 1-2 loose snow avalanches was reported on Tuesday and Monday. A chunk of falling glacial ice triggered a size 3.5 slab on a north-west aspect. On Sunday, a skier triggered a size 1.5 persistent slab avalanche on a southwest aspect at 2100m. On Saturday a skier triggered a size 1.5 persistent slab avalanche on a northeast aspect at 1500m with a 1 m crown. Both were in the south of the region.

Snowpack Summary

Solar aspects have developed new sun crusts, which new snow may sluff easily on. Recent storm snow continues to settle. A couple of layers buried in mid-late February (down around 50-100 cm) are variably reactive, but both have the potential to create surprisingly large avalanches if triggered. Initially, these interfaces were most reactive on solar aspects, where they present as buried sun crusts. However, persistent slabs have been triggered on shady aspects too, where surface hoar and/or facets exist.Deeper persistent weak layers from January and December are generally considered dormant, but could wake up with forecast warming, a surface avalanche stepping down, cornice fall, or a human trigger in a shallow or variable-depth snowpack area. These layers consist of sun crust, surface hoar and/or facets. Facets linger at the base of the snowpack.

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