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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 12th, 2023–Mar 13th, 2023

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

Regions

Field.

A warm and wet storm is coming Monday. Climbers should avoid all gully terrain in the Field and Mt. Stephen area as natural avalanches will be likely with the possibility of rain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported or observed in the past 24 hours.

Snowpack Summary

A sun crust is present on steep solar slopes at treeline and below while 10-30 cm of soft snow can be found on northerly aspects. The various Jan PWL interfaces (sun crusts, facets, and surface hoar) are now down 40-80 cm. The weaker Nov. 16 basal facet layer is down 50-120 cm producing variable results in snowpack tests.

Weather Summary

20-30cm is expected Monday and Tuesday.

Monday: 20-30cm at upper elevations with 50km S/SW winds. Freezing levels rise to around 1500-1700m which will likely mean rain in this region. Ridgetop temperatures -5C.

Tuesday: Snow tapering and cooling temperatures throughout the day.

For a more detailed forecast click here.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid terrain traps such as gullies and cliffs where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.

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.