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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 11th, 2025–Mar 12th, 2025

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Glacier, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, Dogtooth, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

It remains likely for riders to trigger large avalanches. Conservative terrain travel is recommended.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Monday saw many large (size 2 to 3) storm slab, wind slab, and persistent slab avalanches. They were triggered naturally, by humans, and by explosives. They occurred on all aspects and at all elevation bands but most prominently on west, north, and east aspects around 1900 to 2500 m.

It remains likely for humans to trigger similar avalanches going forward until the snowpack strengthens.

Snowpack Summary

Around 50 cm of storm snow has accumulated since Saturday. This snow sits on a hard melt-freeze crust and potentially surface hoar crystals in wind-sheltered terrain. Deposits may be deeper in lee terrain features in the alpine from recent southerly wind.

Weak layers of surface hoar and/or faceted grains buried mid-February and late-January are around 60 to 150 cm deep.

The lower half of the snowpack is strong.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeply buried weak layers and result in very large avalanches.

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.