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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 28th, 2023–Mar 29th, 2023

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

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

A relatively stable snowpack in the morning will deteriorate with rising temperatures, solar input, and little wind to cool things off.

Avoid solar slopes during the height of the day.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Two size-one wind slab avalanches were reported on Monday. These were skier controlled and naturally caused. They were on north-facing aspects and were at a depth of 5 cm failing on the recent snow.

On Saturday there were reports of several small to large wet loose avalanches that started near the alpine on south-facing terrain. There was also a report of a skier-triggered size 1.5 wind slab avalanche that occurred in the alpine.

On Friday, a couple of cornice failures triggered loose dry avalanches up to size 2 on large alpine slopes.

A couple of deep persistent slab avalanches were reported last week. Last Wednesday, a cornice fall entrained a mass of snow which then triggered a size 3 deep persistent slab avalanche. It occurred at 2350 m on a north east facing slope. Last Tuesday, a size 2.5 deep persistent slab avalanche was reported in the South Chilcotin range, around 2200 m on a south-facing slope.

Snowpack Summary

Strong easterly winds may develop new wind slabs where they typically do not occur in a process called reverse loading.

Below the new snow is a melt-freeze crust that exists on all aspects at treeline and below, and on solar aspects to the mountain top. On high north aspects is a mixture of decomposing dry snow and small surface hoar in isolated locations.

The mid-snowpack is generally strong but the lower snowpack is a different story.

A weak layer of sugary facets is still prominent at the base of the snowpack. Small surface avalanches and cornice falls are the most likely things to trigger this layer. However, there remains a significant concern for human triggering in rocky, shallow, or thin-to-thick snowpack areas at treeline and above.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear, no accumulation, winds northeast 10 to 20 km/h gusting to 35, freezing levels dipping down to valley bottom.

Wednesday

Sunny with a few clouds, no accumulation, winds switching from the northeast to the southwest light, freezing levels reaching 2000 m.

Thursday

Sunny in the morning with clouds increasing throughout the day, no accumulation, winds southwest 15 km/h, freezing level to 1800 m.

Friday

Cloudy, 8 to 10 cm accumulation starting Thursday evening, winds southwest 15 km/h, freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Avoid exposure to slopes that have cornices overhead.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.

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.