Avalanche forecast

Northwest Inland

Mar 9 – 10, 2024Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

New snow and wind are increasing the chance of triggering deeper weak layers. As the storm slab problem gets trickier the solution is to seek out more conservative terrain to ride.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1.5–3

    A layer of buried surface hoar or weak, sugary facets overlying a crust have the potential to create large avalanches if triggered.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2

    While storm slabs require caution on all aspects, they are expected to be deeper and more reactive on north and east facing features near ridgetops.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several avalanche reports and reactive snowpack tests through the week have indicated that storm slabs and persistent avalanches are a concern. On Friday skiers in the Blunt Range were able to ski cut size 1 slabs on north facing slopes and reported a lot of whumpfing and shooting cracks.

Looking forward to Saturday, new snow and wind are making it more likely for a large avalanche to be triggered by a human.

Snowpack Summary

Expect to find 20 to 35 cm of soft, fresh snow in sheltered areas. Moderate to strong winds may be forming fresh, reactive slabs in leeward terrain.

The new snow covers wind-affected snow or crusts. At lower elevations below treeline, the upper snowpack may be moist or wet.

There are a variety of weak layers in the upper snowpack that could produce larger avalanches. Most concerning is a layer of weak, faceted crystals sitting on a crust 40 to 80 cm below the snow surface, seen in the snow profile photo below.

The lower snowpack is generally well-bonded and strong.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy. 2 to 8 cm of snow expected. 30 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline low around -4 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy. 0 to 2 cm of snow expected. 30 km/h westerly ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy. 0 to 3 cm of snow expected. 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -3 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. 0 to 2 cm of snow expected. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Storm snow and wind is forming touchy slabs. Use caution in lee areas in the alpine and treeline.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.

Regions covered