Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Boundary, East Stikine, Ningunsaw, Northwest Coastal, Stewart, West Stikine.
Danger is expected to be highest during the warmest parts of the day.Human triggering remains a concern with buried persistent weak layers.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
There have been no new avalanches reported in the last couple days.
Early this week (Monday and Tuesday), a few loose wet avalanches were reported on steep sunny slopes, ranging from small to large (sizes 1 to 2). A few glide slab avalanches were observed in the Iskut area.
A week ago (Saturday), three very large (size 3) persistent slab avalanches were reported, occurring on southerly alpine slopes and likely triggered by warming.
Snowpack Summary
A thick widespread crust caps the snowpack in most areas. At lower elevations and on steep sunny slopes, the crust may soften with warming during the day or the snowpack may become isothermal.
Dry powder snow still exists on high north-facing alpine slopes and a weak layer of surface hoar is developing in sheltered terrain at treeline and above.
Various weak layers, including crusts, facets, and/or surface hoar exist approximately 40 to 80 cm deep. An additional crust and facet layer may be found 100 to 150+ cm below the surface. Lingering concern remains for human-triggering on these persistent weak layers.
Weather Summary
Thursday Night
Starry sky with patchy clouds. Northeast ridgetop wind, 15-25 km/h. Treeline temperature low -8 °C. Freezing level dropping to valley bottom.
Friday
Sunny. Northeast ridgetop wind, 5-15 km/h. Treeline temperature high -1 °C. Freezing level rising to 1100 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. West ridgetop wind, 30-40km/h. Treeline temperature high -1 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace to 5 cm. Southwest ridgetop wind gusting to 55 km/h. Treeline temperature high 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.
- When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
- As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
- Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet
Avalanche Problems
Persistent Slabs
Avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks in the alpine and treeline where triggering a persistent weak layer is more likely.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 2 - 3.5