Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 30th, 2024–Mar 31st, 2024

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Blue River, McBride, Premier, Clemina, Esplanade, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Renshaw, Robson, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat.

Slabs at higher elevations could remain touchy to riders. Expect to find varying conditions as you change aspect and elevation.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

The last few days saw widespread small to large (size 1 to 2) storm slab and loose avalanches in alpine terrain on all aspects, generally out of steep terrain (40 to 45 degrees).

Looking forward, riders could trigger storm slabs within the recent snow. These slabs could be particularly reactive on steep northerly terrain at higher elevations. Loose wet avalanches may also occur during the heat of the day on sun-exposed slopes.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 40 cm of snow accumulated above around 1000 m to 1500 m over the past few days. All this new snow sits on surface hoar crystals that overly faceted or wind affect snow on northerly alpine terrain or a hard melt-freeze crust elsewhere. Thicker deposits may be found in lee terrain features near ridgetop. Sun-exposed slopes are likely to moisten with daytime heating.

A widespread crust that formed in early February is buried anywhere from 80 to 150 cm deep. This crust has a weak layer of faceted grains above it that are slowly strengthening. This layer is currently dormant.

The remainder of the snowpack is settled.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Skies clearing. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Mostly clear skies. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Monday

Clear skies, clouds increasing in the north. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy. 35 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
Avoid thin areas like rock outcroppings where you're most likely to trigger avalanches failing on deep weak layers.

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.

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.