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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 25th, 2021–Mar 26th, 2021

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

Regions

North Columbia.

Watch for changing snow conditions when you gain elevation and transition into open wind affected terrain.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

THURSDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy, 30 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperatures drop to -10 C.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy, freezing level up to 1300 m and treeline temperatures around -6 C.

SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow, 30 km/h southwest wind, freezing level up to 1600 m, treeline temperatures around -3 C.

SUNDAY: Flurries with 10-20 cm of snow, 40-60 km/h southwest wind, freezing level up to 1700 m, treeline temperatures around -3 C.

Avalanche Summary

Recent avalanche activity has primarily been small (size 1-1.5) avalanches in the top 15 cm of snow, many of them dry loose sluffs rather than slabs. A few larger slab 2 avalanches have been observed in steep slide paths in Glacier NP over the past few days.

On Monday and Tuesday there were a few human triggered slab avalanches in the Revelstoke area, including this snowmobile triggered avalanche on Boulder Mountain.

One notable size 3 slab avalanche was observed northeast of Revelstoke on Wednesday. The avalanche failed on the ground on a south aspect at 1600 m. While an isolated event, it is a good reminder to watch for slopes warming up in the springtime heat.

Snowpack Summary

At alpine and treeline elevations 10-20 cm of fresh snow brings totals over the last week to 40-60 cm. This sits above an interface that formed during the mid-March dry spell, which consists of a widespread crust (except on north-facing slopes above 1800 m). Overall the snow seems to be bonding well to this interface, although there have been some isolated human triggered avalanches running on the crust layer over the past few days.

Lower elevations have undergone daily melt-freeze cycles, with moist or crusty surfaces likely found up to at least 1500 m.

Terrain and Travel

  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
  • Be careful with open slopes and convex rolls, especially in more extreme terrain.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.

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.