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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 5th, 2024–Apr 6th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot.

Continually assess conditions as you travel.

Rider-triggered wind slabs remain possible on recently loaded alpine features.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, small wind slab avalanches were skier-triggered on recently loaded southwest alpine slopes near Whistler. Loose wet avalanches were also easily triggered on steep terrain at treeline and are suspected to have run on a crust. Explosive controls produced several large cornice falls (up to size 2.5) around Whistler over the past few days.

If you go into the backcountry, please consider submitting to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 30 cm of recent storm snow is found above 1600 m. This overlies a moist snow surface or a crust on all aspects, except north-facing alpine slopes where dry snow remains. Recent reverse-loading has redistributed snow into immediate lee of southerly alpine slopes. The storm snow is rapidly settling at treeline and becoming moist on solar aspects.

The facet/crust layer that produced large avalanches during early March is buried 150-250 cm deep and is currently considered unreactive.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly clear. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5° C. Freezing level 700 m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Monday

Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Watch for unstable snow on specific terrain features, especially when the snow is moist or wet.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.