Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 4th, 2026–Apr 5th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

While warm and sun will definitely increase the likelihood of avalanches, we are unsure of how large they may be.

It's an eggs-cellent time to make more conservative terrain choices.

Confidence

Moderate

We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.
We are confident the likelihood of avalanches will increase with the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, a skier triggered avalanche occurred in the Manning park area, read the whole report here.

On Tuesday, avalanche control work conducted south of Hope produced a few small (size 1-1.5) loose dry and slab avalanches with good propagation but not running fast or very far.

If you are heading into the backcountry, consider sharing your observations and posting a MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Warm daytime temperatures and clear nights have formed a surface crust in many areas, with wet or slushy surface snow elsewhere.

Up to 45 cm of new snow has fallen over the past week and been redistributed by wind. In some areas, this snow overlies a melt-freeze crust, creating an ideal sliding surface. This new snow is settling and bonding with 50 cm of snow that is above a widespread, thick, and hard crust that exists everywhere except the highest alpine terrain.

The lower snowpack is generally strong and bonded.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Sunday
Sunny. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

Monday
Mostly sunny. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Warming weather will change the game, click this link for great terrain and travel advice.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Avoid steep, sun-exposed slopes when the air temperature is warm or when solar radiation is strong.
The more the snowpack warms up and weakens, the more conservative your terrain selection should be.
Travel early on sun-exposed slopes before cornices weaken with daytime warming.
Use extra caution for areas that are experiencing rapidly warming temperatures for the first time.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.