Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2025–Mar 10th, 2025

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended on Monday.

The new storm snow is not bonding well to old surfaces. Human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Stick to conservative terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, explosives control produced several storm slab avalanches up to size 3.5.

If you are headed to the backcountry, please consider sharing your photos and observations from your day on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 70 cm of storm snow blankets the region. Strong southwest winds have redistributed storm snow into deep pockets on lee slopes at the ridgeline. Storm snow covers a crust on all aspects except on high north facing terrain, where new snow buries 5 cm of snow overlying a crust from earlier in March. This second crust likely doesn’t exist above 2100 m.

A layer of facets and surface hoar from mid February can be found down around 90 to 110 cm.

Another layer of facets and surface hoar from late January can be found down 110 to 150 cm.

The lower snowpack contains several crusts that are not concerning.

Check out this great MIN with snowpack observations from the Joffre area.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 3 cm of snow. 15 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level drops to valley bottom.

Monday

Cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Freezing level around 1000 m.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy with light flurries, 1 to 2 cm of snow. 10 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level around 1300 m.

Wednesday

Partly cloudy with light flurries, 2 to 9 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level around 1300 m.

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.
Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
Keep your guard up at lower elevations. Storms slabs have been reactive at all elevations.
Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.