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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2024–Mar 11th, 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 and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Homathko, Spearhead.

A heavy load of new snow is primed for human-triggering. More snow and wind intensifying through Monday will increase an already elevated avalanche hazard.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A reactive snowpack Saturday around Whisler and Brandywine produced whumpfing and rider-triggered avalanches to size 1.5. A few rider-triggered avalanches to size 2 were reported late Sunday as this forecast went to publish.

A widespread avalanche cycle to size 2.5 occurred early Saturday around the Homathko area, with crowns depths to 150 cm and failing within treeline elevations on the early February crust interface.

Snowpack Summary

30 cm overnight snowfall on Sunday morning with another 30 cm snow through the day. Storm totals exceed 100 cm and cover a variety of surfaces including surface hoar. Strong south winds have and continue to strip snow from ridgelines and exposed features and deposit new snow into deep pockets in lee aspect terrain.

Below recent snow, 120-160 cm of older snow covers crust/facet or surface hoar layer. This layer continues to show sensitivity to human triggers, and is most concerning at treeline elevations where weak grains like facets and surface hoar are more easily preserved.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Continued snowfall, 10-20 cm overnight, with 2-day accumulation exceeding 70 cm by Monday morning. Southwest ridgetop wind 25-30 km/h. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level near 700 m.

Monday

Flurries, 10 cm snow through the day with heavy snowfall intensifying Monday night. Southeast ridgetop wind 40-60 km/h. Treeline temperature - 3 °C. Freezing level around 900 m.

Tuesday

Snow, up to 20 cm by morning and another 10 cm through the day. Southwest ridgetop wind 20-40 km/h. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level near valley bottom.

Wednesday

Cloudy with isolated flurries, up to 5 cm. Southwest ridgetop wind gusting 20-30 km/hr into strong. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Travel in alpine terrain is not recommended.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Avoid traveling in runout zones. Avalanches have the potential to run to the valley floor.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.

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.

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.