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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 27th, 2026–Mar 28th, 2026

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

Regions

Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart.

A buried persistent weak layer is capable of producing large distructive avalanches.

Conditions Update Here

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain due to a limited number of 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 the last week, a few natural and several skier-triggered wind slabs up to size 2 have occurred. A natural cornice failure triggered a size 3 persistent slab on a NW aspect in the alpine.

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 upper/mid snowpack. Submit to the MIN and keep your terrain choices conservative.

Snowpack Summary

Outflow winds with 15 to 30 cm fresh flurries transported snow and stripped features. Around 50 cm of recent snow covers a crust on most aspects and hard wind-preseed surfaces on shaded alpine slopes.

Persistent weak layers of crust/facets or surface hoar are buried 100 to 250 cm deep in the snowpack. While triggering these layers is trending unlikely, they present a low-probability, high-consequence problem.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy. 2 to 4 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use conservative route selection and resist venturing into complex terrain.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.

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.