Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 25th, 2026–Mar 26th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Start on small, mellow slopes and watch for signs of instability before approaching steeper or larger slopes.

Recent snow and wind have built reactive slabs, plus buried weak layers lurk.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain about how quickly persistent slabs are gaining strength.

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, north of Pemberton, numerous small (size 1) rider controlled storm slab avalanches were reported.

On Monday, northeast of Pemberton, a large (size 2) rider triggered wind slab avalanche was reported on a north facing slope in the alpine. Also, explosives avalanche control produced several small to large (size 1-1.5) avalanches, mostly cornices with some wind slabs. One of the cornice falls also stepped down to a deeper weak layer on the slope below.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 10 cm of new snow is expected by the end of the day on Thursday. Moderate to strong southwest wind through the day is expected to form deeper, more reactive deposits in leeward terrain.

This should all add up to 35 to 70 cm of recent storm snow over a widespread, thick and hard crust below about 1800 m, and old wind-affected snow at upper elevations.

Two crusts, buried in early February and March are still a concern, particularly in the Hurley area and zones to the north. Expect to find them around 1-1.5 meters below the snow surface. Of the two, only the early February crust has been reported to have loose, sugary facets on top.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow, possible hotspots of 15 cm or more in the Duffey Lakes area. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 40-55 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 to 4 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to a buried crust.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.