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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2024–Mar 11th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
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

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary, Kokanee, Valhalla.

Don't let your guard down as storm snow begins to stack up. Buried weak layers remain possible to trigger.

Avoid exposing yourself to large slopes or avalanche paths.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches have been reported since Thursday. Recent human and naturally triggered avalanches have been destructive, running full path. Check out the photos below for an explosive triggered avalanche near Nelson, and a rider triggered avalanche in the Bonningtons.

On Monday we expect small slabs within the storm snow. Human triggering of deeper weak layers is still a concern and will likely produce a high consequence avalanche.

Snowpack Summary

Storm totals are expected to reach 20-40 cm by Monday afternoon, falling on a variety of weak surfaces - a crust on sun affected slopes, surface hoar in sheltered terrain, and wind affected snow in exposed areas. The bond between the old snow surface and new snow is expected to be poor.

A widespread crust with weak facets above is buried 80-150 cm deep and remains a concern for human triggering. While reports suggest this layer is becoming harder to trigger, it has produced very large avalanche activity this week.

The snowpack below the crust is generally strong.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, gusting to 70 km/h. Freezing levels remain around 1000 m.

Monday

Cloudy with 5 cm of snow. 20-30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing levels rise to 1500 m, with treeline temperatures around -3 °C.

Tuesday

5-15 cm of snow overnight in the Selkirks.

Cloudy with another 5-15 cm of snow for the Selkirks. 30-40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing levels rise to 1500 m, with treeline temperatures around -3 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly clear skies. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing levels rise to 1500 m, with treeline temperatures around -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to the presence of deeply buried weak layers.
  • Use increased caution at all elevations. Storm snow is forming touchy slabs.
  • Be careful to keep storm day fever from luring you out into bigger terrain features.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.

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.

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.