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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2025–Mar 6th, 2025

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus.

Keep an eye on the effects of warming and solar input throughout the day

Avalanche activity will likely increase when the snow surface feels moist

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few small avalanches were triggered on Tuesday and Wednesday with explosives and ski cutting. No other avalanches have been reported in the past 3 days.

However, last week a flurry of very large persistent slab avalanche activity was reported at alpine and treeline elevations. These avalanches are becoming less likely, but the consequences of triggering one remain high.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 10 cm of new snow has fallen with moderate to strong southwest winds forming deeper deposits on north and east aspects. This snow sits over a widespread crust.

The snow surface will likely become moist during the day on all aspects and elevations except for high north facing slopes.

60 to 80 cm of well-settled snow sits over a weak layer of facets and surface hoar buried in mid-February. Recent snowpack tests indicate this layer may be starting to gain strength.

another weak layer, from late January, is buried 80 to 120 cm deep. This may present as a crust on sunny slopes, sugary facets in most places, and surface hoar in sheltered spots.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Clear sky. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Thursday

Sunny. 10 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 15 to 30 mm of mixed precipitation. 50 to 70 km/h south ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
  • A hard crust on the snow surface will help strengthen the snowpack, but may cause tough travel conditions.
  • Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.

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.

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.

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.