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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2025–Mar 21st, 2025

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron, Harrison-Fraser.

Stormy weather continues !

Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow and wind.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Storm slabs (size 1) were easily triggered by riders on convex rolls on Wednesday, as the storm brought 15 to 20 cm of new snow.

Avalanche activity will increase during this stormy period and a natural cycle is expected.

Thanks for sharing your observations via the MIN if you are going out into the backcountry.

Snowpack Summary

Another 40 to 60 cm of new snow is expected by Friday afternoon, forming touchy and widespread storm slabs. This overlies firm wind-transported snow in lee terrain at upper elevations and moist, heavy snow or a melt-freeze crust on southerly slopes, especially at lower elevations.

A supportive crust is found 80 to 150 cm deep and the recent settling snow is bonding well to it. Below this, the snowpack is well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 30 to 50 cm of new snow. 50 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of new snow. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with 25 to 40 cm of new snow. 50 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas with overhead hazard.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.
  • As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.

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.