Avalanche Forecast

There are no recent observations from the Haines Pass area. On Monday, a couple of large, deep avalanches were observed in the alpine. A size 3 on a northeast aspect was thought to have run during a wind event last Sunday, and a size 2.5 on a south aspect was thought to have been triggered by strong sun early in the week. These have been isolated occurrences so far, but may be a sign of things to come as the spring warms up.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

By Friday afternoon 15 cm of snow fell at Haines Pass, with another 15 to 25 cm possible by Saturday afternoon. This snow will most likely be soft and low density in sheltered areas, but stiffer wind slabs could form in open terrain. This snow is falling on wind-pressed layers in the alpine and on a rain crust below 1300 m.

Weaknesses in the mid and lower snowpack are unlikely to produce avalanches under the current conditions. A weak layer of surface hoar/crust/facets buried in early January is now over 1 m deep in most areas, and has not produced avalanche activity for several weeks. The lower snowpack consists of basal facets, particularly in thin snowpack areas.

Friday night

Cloudy, steady flurries with 10 to 15 cm of snow, 30 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperatures cool to -8 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy, flurries easing off by the afternoon with 5 to 10 cm of new snow, 20 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperatures around -8 °C.

Mix of sun and cloud, no significant precipitation, 25 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -8 °C.

Sunny, no precipitation, 15 km/h north wind, treeline temperatures around -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 20 cm of new snow.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
• Use small low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.