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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 3rd, 2023–Mar 4th, 2023

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sasquatch.

Expect to find reactive storm slabs and use caution in wind-loaded terrain.

Seek out low-angled terrain away from the wind until the snow has time to settle.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Several storm slab and wind slab avalanches, up to size two, were reported on Thursday. These were triggered naturally, accidentally, and with explosives. One was even triggered remotely.

Expect to find more of the same this weekend if you venture into the backcountry.

For a deeper dive into conditions, check out this awesome South Coast Conditions report posted by Zenith Guides.

Snowpack Summary

By Saturday morning 50 to 80 cm of snow will have accumulated since last weekend. Southerly winds have accompanied this snow so expect to find thick loaded features in exposed terrain and in the lee of features. In some areas, this new snow has bonded poorly to the underlying surface consisting of stiff wind slabs and facets formed by last week's wind and cold temperatures.

Deeper in the snowpack 60 to 180 cm down exists two crusts with facets sitting above them. They can be found in alpine and treeline elevation bands. If triggered these layers could produce massive avalanches.

The remainder of the mid and lower snowpack is well-settled, strong, and consolidated.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy with some clear periods, 5 to 10 cm accumulation, winds southeast 20 to 25 km/h, treeline temperatures around -9 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with sunny periods, 2 to 5 cm accumulation, winds northeast 20 km/h, treeline temperatures -7 °C, and freezing level reaching 1000 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks, 5 cm accumulation, winds east 15 to 30 km/h, treeline temperatures -6 °C.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud, trace accumulation, winds southeast 15 km/h, treeline temperatures -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Don't be too cavalier with decision making, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Carefully monitor the bond between the new snow and old surface.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

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.