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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 29th, 2025–Mar 30th, 2025

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

Regions

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

Variable freezing levels keep the upper snowpack moist; periods of sun may break down the surface crust.

Back off steep slopes if you find moist surface snow and no supportive crust.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity reported.

Looking forward, variable depths of storm snow may be triggered with rising freezing levels and even short windows of solar input.

A widespread large natural avalanche occurred over the past week. While activity peaked on Wednesday, human triggering is possible where there is no thick melt-freeze crust.

Read the Forecaster Blog for an opportunity to reflect on this week's widespread avalanche activity.

Snowpack Summary

New snow has buried a melt-freeze crust of variable thickness that increases in supportiveness as you gain elevation. Below this crust, snow remains moist in the upper snowpack.

Weak layers in the middle and lower snowpack remain a concern for human-triggering where a hard melt-freeze crust has not yet formed or breaks down during periods of sun and rising freezing levels.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Clear. 15 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Sunday

Mainly clear. 20 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Monday

Cloudy. Flurries, 8 to 12 cm. 20 to 30 km/h northwest wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy, isolated flurries, 2 to 3 cm.15 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

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.

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.