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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 11th, 2025–Mar 12th, 2025

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

Regions

Cariboos, Blue River, Clearwater, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Clemina, North Monashee.

Riders could trigger large avalanches within the recent storm snow. Conservative terrain travel is recommended.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Many large to very large (size 2 to 3.5) storm slab avalanches were reported on Monday. They were triggered naturally, by riders, and by explosives. The avalanches were mostly on north to east aspects between 1900 and 2100 m. They failed at the base of the recent storm snow, with 50 to 80 cm slabs reported.

It remains possible for riders to trigger similar avalanches for the coming days.

Snowpack Summary

Around 50 to 80 cm of storm snow since Saturday sits on a hard melt-freeze crust found everywhere except north-facing slopes above 1600 m. There may also be isolated surface hoar crystals above the crust in wind-sheltered terrain around treeline.

A weak layer of surface hoar and/or faceted grains buried mid-February is around 70 to 120 cm deep.

The lower snowpack is well-settled.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.

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.