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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 29th, 2024–Mar 1st, 2024

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Northwest Inland, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Kispiox, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw.

Avoid big slopes overhead: Avalanches continue to be remotely triggered and are propagating widely. Watch for shooting cracks and whumpfing indicating a touchy snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural and human-triggered avalanches have occurred across the region. These include several very large (size 3) remotely triggered slabs.

Remote triggers indicate a sensitive snowpack and the need for very conservative terrain choices.

Recent avalanches have occurred on all aspects and at various elevations, on buried weak layers up to 100 cm deep.

Click on the photos below for more details.

Snowpack Summary

40 to 70 cm of recent snow has been moved by strong winds from various directions at upper elevations. This snow sits over facets and a crust, and in isolated areas, buried surface hoar. Soft snow can still be found in lower-elevation terrain that is sheltered from the wind.

A thick crust with weak facets on top is buried 50 to 100 cm deep. This layer has been problematic, producing very large step-down avalanches.

Reports show the recent snow is not bonding well to these older weak layers, producing ongoing reactivity including remote triggering of avalanches.

Below, the mid and lower snowpack is generally well-bonded and strong.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 25 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -12 °C.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -8 °C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -10 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 25 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use conservative route selection. Choose simple, low-angle, well-supported terrain with no overhead hazard.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • Caution required around non obvious avalanche terrain like road cutbanks, cutblocks and other non obvious avalanche terrain

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.