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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2023–Mar 10th, 2023

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

The alpine is the most likely place to encounter avalanche problems like stiff wind slabs and buried weak layers. The best and safest riding can be found in sheltered treeline terrain in side valleys.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, a size 2.5 persistent slab avalanche was remotely triggered by skiers on a ridgetop in the alpine. The slab propagated widely on a thin, rocky southeast aspect and it stepped down to basal facets lower on the slope.

Snowpack Summary

Outflow winds from the north have done a real number on the surface snow scouring exposed terrain, creating waves of sastrugi in more sheltered terrain, and forming wind slabs on southerly aspects. Very sheltered terrain in side valleys to the east and west of White Pass still harbour softer snow for riding.

The middle of the snowpack is very firm and settled. There is a surface hoar layer buried 60 cm (Powder Valley, Tuthsi, Paddy Peak) to 120 cm (White Pass) deep in sheltered, mostly north facing terrain features that produced some large, human-triggered avalanches in January and February.

At the base of the snowpack large sugary crystals persist.

Weather Summary

Thursday night

A few cm of snow. Moderate northeasterly wind. Alpine low -18 ˚C.

Friday

Light flurries in the morning and a mix of sun and cloud in the afternoon. Moderate to strong northeasterly wind. Alpine high -17 ˚C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud with scattered flurries. Moderate to strong northeasterly wind. Alpine high -20 ˚C.

Sunday

Sunny. Light to moderate northeasterly wind. Alpine high -18 ˚C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger 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.