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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 3rd, 2025–Mar 4th, 2025

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Jordan, North Selkirk, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Dry snow may remain in high elevation northerly terrain however, this is where triggering weak layers is most likely. Manage this high-consequence snowpack with low-consequence terrain.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Over the weekend, numerous natural and human-triggered avalanches, up to size 3.5, were reported at all elevations and aspects, many failing on the late January persistent weak layer.

On Sunday, a skier remotely triggered a size 2 persistent slab avalanche on a NW slope at 2300 m near Kaslo. The avalanche failed on the February weak layer and stepped down to the January weak layer.

Snowpack Summary

A few centimeters of snow overlies a melt-freeze crust on all aspects, except northerly slopes above 2000 m, where surfaces remained dry through the warm-up. Below 1000 m, the snow surface may still be moist.

A weak layer, composed of facets, surface hoar, or a crust, is found 20 to 60 cm deep. Another persistent weak layer, buried in late January, lies 50 to 110 cm deep across the region. This layer also consists of surface hoar/facets or a crust, depending on the aspect.

The remaining snowpack is well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mainly clear skies. 5 to 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level drops to 1000 m.

Tuesday

Increasing cloud. 10 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with light flurries, 5 to 10 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4°C. Freezing level rising to 1300 m.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.
  • Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices.
  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most likely.
  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

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.