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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 15th, 2025–Mar 16th, 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 unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Howson.

Several recent human-triggered persistent slab avalanches show that buried weak layers remain sensitive. Careful snowpack evaluation and conservative decision-making are essential.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, several human-triggered persistent slab avalanches were reported up to size 2. Avalanches occurred between 1700 and 1300 m on a variety of aspects. All these avalanches failed on a weak layer found down 20 to 50 cm, a layer of large surface hoar overlying a crust that developed in early March.

Snowpack Summary

Southerly winds have redistributed 20 to 50 cm of recent snow into deep pockets on lee slopes. Storm snow buried a widespread layer of large surface hoar crystals, which may sit on a crust on solar aspects and at low elevations.

A layer of facets, surface hoar and/or a crust from mid-February are buried 50 to 100 cm deep. This layer produced large natural and human-triggered avalanches throughout the previous week.

The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated with no concerns at this time.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 6 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 2 cm of snow. 25 to 35 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with light flurries, 2 to 4 cm of snow. 50 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
  • Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices.

Problems

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.

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.