Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 27th, 2026–Mar 28th, 2026

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

Northwest Coastal, Boundary, Ningunsaw.

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Conditions Update Here

Confidence

Low

We are uncertain about alpine conditions due to limited field observations.
We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

Over this week, a few natural, cornice-triggered, and skier-triggered wind slabs up to size 2 were reported. A few natural cornice failures occurred, but did not pull slabs on the slopes below.

In the neighbouring region, a fatal avalanche accident occurred north of Terrace on March 22. Available details can be found here.

Observations in this region are limited, and there's uncertainty about buried weak layers in the mid snowpack. Choose conservative terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds have left slabs and pressed surfaces in open and exposed terrain. 10 to 30 cm of facetted and settling snow is found in sheltered areas, and this covers a variety of old surfaces, including surface hoar, facets, crusts, and/or wind-scoured snow.

There are multiple persistent weak layers consisting of crust/facets or surface hoar in the top 200 cm of the snowpack. We have limited information on the distribution and reactivity of these layers.

Cornices are large; give them space.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Saturday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Sunday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.
Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.