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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 14th, 2026–Apr 15th, 2026

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

Regions

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

Start on small slopes and be ready to retreat to mellow terrain if you start seeing signs of instability.

Avalanche danger should start to decrease after the snow and wind taper off.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.
  • We are uncertain about how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Avalanche Summary

While details are lacking, a size 3 persistent slab avalanche with a wide propagation was remotely triggered on a north-facing alpine slope on Friday. It appeared to occur on a steep, rocky slope with a thin-to-thick snowpack.

On Monday and Tuesday, a variety of small to large (size 1-2) natural and explosive triggered avalanches were reported around the region. Wind and Storm slabs in the alpine and treeline, and wet loose at treeline and below.

Snowpack Summary

Expect 30-55 cm of storm snow to have accumulated by Wednesday morning. This covers crusty surfaces across most terrain, except in high alpine north-facing areas, where dry, wintry snow can still be found.

Periods of strong wind around Stewart and to the north may be redistributing that recent snow onto leeward slopes.

On solar aspects and lower elevations, surface crusts are less robust and possibly breakable and/or moist snow.

Several persistent weak layers are buried up to 250 cm deep. While triggering these layers is becoming unlikely, they present a low-probability, high-consequence problem. A cornice fall (large load) may be enough to trigger this slab.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow, possible hotspots of 10 cm or more. 30-50 km/h northeast ridgetop wind around Stewart and to the North. 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind south of Stewart. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 10-30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high -1 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
  • Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.

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.