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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2024–Mar 21st, 2024

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot.

Avalanche hazard may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and remain possible to human trigger.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, explosives control targeting cornices produced a few size 2 avalanches.

Through the prolonged warming event, avalanche activity in the region was observed up to size 4. Steep rocky terrain and direct solar slopes were the most impacted. Evidence of this natural avalanche cycle will still be visible to backcountry users who head into the mountains on Thursday.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of snow overlies a melt-freeze crust that covers the snow surface at all elevations. The exception is on direct north-facing terrain above 2000 m where the surface remained dry through the prolonged warming. Below the crust is 50 to 80 cm of moist snow.

100 to 250 cm down is a weak layer of facets overlying a crust. This layer was the culprit in many very large avalanches through the extended warm period. Uncertainty remains around how long this layer will persist with cooler temperatures.

Below the crust, the snowpack is well settled.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Mainly cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3°C. Freezing levels fall to 1300 m.

Thursday

Cloudy. 5 to 15 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2°C. Freezing level 1500m.

Friday

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 25 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2°C. Freezing level 1500m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with 1 to 4 cm of snow. 10 to 25 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2°C. Freezing level 1500m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep in mind that human triggering potential persists as natural avalanching tapers off.
  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
  • A crust on the surface will help bind the snow together, but may make for tough travel conditions.

Problems

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.