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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 4th, 2023–Mar 5th, 2023

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

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Recent snow will need time to settle.

Watch out for building wind slabs.

Seek out low-angle sheltered areas for the best riding.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Considering the amount of snow that our region has received over the last few days, it should be no surprise that there has been a widespread avalanche cycle. These have been in the form of storm and wind slabs and have reached up to size three. Keep your guard up and expect conditions to continue until the snow settles.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 100 cm have fallen over the last few days. Temperatures remain cool so much of this snow will take some time to settle. Southerly winds redistributed this new snow at higher elevations and in exposed areas creating reactive wind slabs. The new snow may have a poor bond to the underlying stiff wind slabs and faceted snow formed by recent cold temperatures.

A melt-freeze crust formed in mid-January is buried up to 170 to 190 cm deep in the alpine and at treeline. It is still a concern but it seems to be gaining strength.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy with clear periods, no accumulation, winds southeast 30 km/h, treeline temperatures -8 °C, and freezing level down to 300 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with sunny breaks, trace accumulation with potential convective flurries, winds southeast 20 km/h, treeline temperatures -8 °C, and freeing levels to 1000 m.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud, trace accumulation, winds south southeast 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -10 to -5 °C.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud, trace accumulation winds south 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for changing conditions today, storm slabs may become increasingly reactive.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • 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.