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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 11th, 2024–Mar 12th, 2024

Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
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 and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Very dangerous avalanche conditions exist at higher elevations where storm snow and strong winds are building touchy storm slabs.

Avoid all avalanche terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, a sledder accidentally triggered a size 2.5 wind slab avalanche. The avalanche occurred on a west aspect at 1580 m, near Beadnell Mountain.

On Saturday, the storm snow was reported as reactive to skier-triggering with storm slab avalanches up to size 1.5. Two natural, size 2, wind slab avalanches were reported in treeline features on a north aspect.

We expect human-triggered avalanche activity to continue Tuesday as the snowpack adjusts to the new load.

Snowpack Summary

Storm snow continues to accumulate bringing storm totals between 60 to 130 cm in some areas. Strong southerly ridgetop winds have created variable surfaces in exposed areas and built deep deposits in lee features at alpine and treeline.

The new snow sits over a layer of loose snow above a crust that exists on all but high north aspects. It is unlikely the new snow will bond well to old surfaces in areas where it overlies weak facets or surface hoar.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally settled and strong.

Below 1000m the upper snowpack may be moist or wet.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 15 to 30 cm of snow above the rain-snow line. 40 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline around -3 °C. Freezing level around 800m.

Tuesday

Mainly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow above the rain-snow line. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -1 °C. Freezing level around 1000m.

Wednesday

Partly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -2 °C. Freezing level around 800m.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around +3 °C. Freezing level around 3000m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid all avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.
  • Be careful to keep storm day fever from luring you out into bigger terrain features.
  • As the storm slab problem gets trickier, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.

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.