Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 5th, 2025–Mar 6th, 2025

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie.

Continue to choose simple, mellow terrain. Signs of buried weak layers may be hard to find.

Be especially cautious on high north-facing slopes, and on sunny slopes during warming.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported since Sunday.

Looking forward: Avalanches on buried weak layers may be difficult to trigger, but if one is triggered, it is likely to be large and destructive.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 15 cm of new snow is settling over a widespread melt-freeze crust that exists everywhere but high north-facing slopes.

Two concerning weak layers are present in the mid snowpack: facets/surface hoar or a crust from mid-February buried 40-60 cm, and faceted snow/surface hoar/crust from late January buried 60-100 cm. These layers were active during the warm-up and are most concerning at upper elevations, where a thick and supportive crust under the new snow hasn't stabilized the snowpack.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear. 5 to 10 km/h north wind. Freezing level falling to between 1000 m and valley bottom. Treeline low around -6 °C.

Thursday

Sunny. 10 to 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1800 m. Treeline high around -2 °C.

Friday

Sunny. 5 to 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to valley bottom overnight, rising to 1900 m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to valley bottom overnight, rising to 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • In times of uncertainty, conservative terrain choices are our best defense.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

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.

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.