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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 23rd, 2024–Mar 24th, 2024

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

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Back off sun affected slopes as snow becomes wet and slushy.

While dry snow may remain on north facing alpine features, weak layers are possible to trigger here.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported on Friday. Widespread wet avalanche activity occurred previously during the warmer temperatures (photo below). Smaller wet avalanches may continue with sunshine and warm temperatures.

Whumpfs (a collapse of the buried weak layer), and test results still indicate that triggering the persistent weak layer is possible in specific features.

If you head into the backcountry, please submit your observations or photos to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

A thick melt-freeze crust sits on the surface in most areas, except for high north-facing alpine slopes where dry snow may still exist. This crust may soften throughout the day at lower elevations and south-facing slopes.  At lower elevations, the snow below the crust is likely moist or wet to ground. 

A layer of weak, faceted crystals overlying a crust, remains a lingering concern for human triggering at upper elevations, buried 30-60 cm deep.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Clear skies with light and variable wind. Freezing levels remain around 1500 m in the Kispiox area, and fall to valley bottom elsewhere.

Sunday

Sunny. 10-20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4°C. Freezing level rising to 1800 m.

Monday

Sunny with afternoon cloud. 20 km/h westerly ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1300 m.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10-20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level rising to 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.

Problems

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.

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.