Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2025–Mar 10th, 2025

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Glacier, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, Dogtooth, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Choose conservative, low consequence terrain and give the storm snow time to settle

New snowfall amounts are variable, continuously assess and verify conditions

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday ski cutting produced numerous small wind slab avalanches in the region. These avalanches were at treeline and on a variety of aspects.

We suspect that a natural avalanche cycle occurred on Sunday but as of the time of publishing we have not received any reports.

Snowpack Summary

New snowfall amounts in the region are highly variable, By Monday morning 20 to 70 cm may have fallen with strong southwest winds, forming deeper deposits on north and east aspects. This new snow will overlie a crust on all aspects and elevations except north facing slopes above 2000 m. Surface hoar could also be found under this new snow on sheltered features.

A weak layer, composed of facets, surface hoar, or a crust, is found 40 to 90 cm deep from mid-February. Another persistent weak layer, buried in late January, lies 60 to 120 cm deep. This layer is surface hoar, facets, or a crust, depending on the aspect.

The remaining snowpack is well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 20 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with up to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with around 5 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with around 5 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h south 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.
Don't let storm day fever lure you into consequential terrain.
Avoid the runout zones of avalanche paths. Avalanches could run full path.
Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

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.