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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2026–Apr 10th, 2026

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

Regions

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

Keep an eye on those cornices! One more sunny day of exploring before the clouds roll in. Bring sharp tools for the crust and start and finish early to avoid getting caught in isothermal snow.

Confidence

High

  • We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast.

Avalanche Summary

A cornice-triggered slab avalanche was observed from a distance on Overlord Mountain on Wednesday. It happened on a northwest aspect at 2400 m.

Activity has generally quieted since last weekend's warmup. Several more natural wet loose avalanches up to size 2.5 were observed in the Whistler area Monday, focused on west aspects above 2000 m. Ski cutting produced several size 1.5 releases. A bit less of the same type of activity was reported Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

Spring-like melt-freeze cycles now characterize a daily evolution of surface conditions on all but north-facing slopes above 2000 m, where 10 to 20 cm of windblown dry snow may still be found. Below this elevation and on solar aspects, the surface crust is 5 - 10 cm thick.

A crust/facet layer from late March sits 20 to 80 cm deep and another thick crust sits 80-100 cm deep. Near Whistler, some facets have been reported around the deeper crust. Neither of these layers are an avalanche problem right now, but they perhaps give large cornice falls from high north aspects a slim chance of triggering a slab, such as the one observed on Overlord Mountain on Wednesday.

The snowpack below is well settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.

Friday
Sunny, cloud increasing near end-of-day. 10 to 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with isolated showers, less than 1 mm. 5 to 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 2300 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with light rain, 2 to 3 mm, and a possible trace of new snow in the alpine. 10 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

Problems

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.

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.