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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 25th, 2024–Mar 26th, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, Shuswap, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Retallack, Whatshan.

Terrain management is still your best approach at avoiding the persistent slab problem.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Over the weekend we received reports of small avalanches and sluffing in the 10 to 20 cm of recent snow.

The latest report of persistent slab activity was from Friday, when several naturally triggered avalanches occurred on north aspects at alpine elevations.

A cooling trend with some precipitation may decrease the likelihood of humans triggering buried weak layers, but the consequence of being caught in such an avalanche would be catastrophic.

Snowpack Summary

Around 10 to 20 cm of settled soft snow exists on shaded alpine slopes. Sun-exposed slopes and all aspects below 1800 m have a hard surface melt-freeze crust.

Two layers of surface hoar on shaded slopes and a crust on sun-exposed slopes may be found in the top metre of the snowpack.

A widespread crust that formed in early February is buried about 80 to 150 cm deep. This crust has a weak layer of facets above it that are slowly strengthening.

The remainder of the snowpack is settled.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
  • Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

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.

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.