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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 17th, 2023–Mar 18th, 2023

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, Tantalus, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

Rising freezing levels and the sun can quickly destabilize the snowpack. Avoid sun-exposed slopes and overhead hazards like cornices during the heat of the day.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, wet-loose avalanches to size 1.5 were reported from solar slopes and steep, rocky terrain.

On Wednesday, pinwheeling was seen on solar aspects and small dry loose sluffing seen on shaded aspects.

On Tuesday, natural and skier-triggered dry loose avalanches up to size 1 were reported from the North Shore mountains.

On Monday, natural dry loose avalanches were reported from steep terrain features and explosive control initiated several storm slabs up to size 1. The storm slabs were 5 to 20 cm thick with very limited propagation and entrainment.

Natural and human-triggered avalanche activity will likely occur throughout the weekend with rising freezing levels and solar radiation.

Snowpack Summary

Daytime warming and solar radiation will promote moist snow surfaces, destabilizing the upper snowpack on all aspects up to 1300 m. Above this only steep solar slopes will be affected while northerly aspects should hold the dryer wintery snow longer. Southerly winds have also created wind slabs in exposed terrain at higher elevations.The recent 40 cm of storm snow is reportedly settling and bonding to the old buried crusts.

In general, the mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and bonded.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Scattered clouds and starry breaks. Treeline low temperatures -2. South wind 20-30 km/hr. Freezing level 1400 m.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud. South wind 15-20 km/hr. Treeline high temperature +7. Freezing level 1800 m.

Sunday

Showers start near the end of the day, 10-20 mm overnight. Southeast wind increasing to 30-40 km/hr. Treeline high temperature +4, freezing level dropping to 1500 m.

Monday

Rain transitioning to snow at higher elevations, 10 mm. South wind gusting to 30 km/hr. Treeline temperature high +2, freezing level 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • As surface loses cohesion due to melting, loose wet avalanches become common in steeper terrain.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.