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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2024–Mar 27th, 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, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla.

Use extra caution as you venture into wind-affected terrain.

Recent storm snow may not have bonded yet to the underlying surface.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several large (size 2) skier-accidental and skier-controlled storm slab avalanches occurred on Monday east of New Denver.

Small dry loose avalanches have been occurring on the crust as well.

Snowpack Summary

15 to 25 cm of recent snow overlies predominantly crusty surfaces, except for northerly aspects at upper elevations.

A weak layer of surface hoar is down 30-60 cm in isolated, sheltered areas at treeline.

A widespread crust with sugary facets above is buried 80-180 cm deep. Steep or convex terrain features with a shallow or thin to thick snowpack at treeline and above are the most likely places to trigger this layer. However, when a thick surface crust is present, human triggering this layer is unlikely.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 15 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 15 to 25 km/h south alpine wind.  Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with up to 15 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest alpine wind.  Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest alpine wind.  Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.
  • Cornice failure may trigger large avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.