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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 12th, 2025–Mar 13th, 2025

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

New snow and wind will make dangerous avalanche conditions.

Avalanches are expected.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Monday: A few natural and skier triggered storm slab and wind slab avalanches were reported up to size 2.5 (very large). They happened on north and east aspects in the alpine and at treeline.

Some of these avalanches stepped down to weak layers that are buried in the snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

Snow continues through the day which could add up to 40cm on top of 20 cm of recent snow. This snow sits on a crust on solar aspects and all aspects below 1800 m. Above the crust, surface hoar or facets exist in sheltered areas and on north aspects.

Two concerning weak layers are present in the mid snowpack: facets/surface hoar or a crust from mid-February buried 50-90 cm, and facet/surface hoar/crust from late January buried 80-120 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Thursday

Mainly cloudy with 15 to 25 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday

Mix of sun and cloud with up to 3 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Saturday

Mainly cloudy with up to 7 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
  • Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.