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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 26th, 2021–Mar 27th, 2021

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

Regions

South Columbia.

Human triggered avalanches are possible. Watch for changing snow conditions when you gain elevation and transition into open wind affected terrain. 

Confidence

High - The number, quality, or consistency of field observations is good, and supports our confidence.

Weather Forecast

FRIDAY NIGHT: Cloudy, 20 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -4 C.

SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud with some light flurries but no notable accumulations of snow, 30-40 km/h southwest wind, freezing level up to 1700 m, treeline temperatures around -2 C.

SUNDAY: Flurries with 10-20 cm of snow, 40-50 km/h southwest wind, freezing level up to 1500 m, treeline temperatures around -3 C.

MONDAY: Another 10-15 cm of snow by the morning then mostly cloudy during the day, 30 km/h northwest wind, freezing level drops to valley bottom and treeline temperatures drop to -8 C.

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity over the past few days has primarily been small (size 1-1.5) dry loose avalanches in the top 20 cm of snow and some small cornice failures that did not trigger any slabs. However, each day there have been a few notable slab avalanches. On Thursday a natural size 3 avalanche was observed on a east aspect at 1800 m in the Valhallas. The crown 100 cm thick, but no other details are known. On Wednesday there was a size 2 skier triggered avalanche on a east facing slope at 2250 m in the southern Selkirks (running on a 30 cm deep crust layer).

On Saturday there will be a lingering possibility to trigger storm slab, wind slab, and dry loose avalanches in the upper snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

At alpine and treeline elevations 10-20 cm of recent snow sits above sun crusts on solar aspects and small surface hoar on shaded aspects. 30-50 cm of snow has accumulated 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 these interfaces, although there have been a few isolated avalanches running on crusts 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 1800 m.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with open slopes and convex rolls, especially in more extreme terrain.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
  • 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.