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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 12th, 2025–Mar 13th, 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

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

The new storm snow is not bonding well to old surfaces, and human-triggered avalanches are likely.

Natural avalanche activity will spike on solar slopes when the sun is out.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, continued evidence of a widespread natural avalanche cycle from last weekend's storm was reported. Most recently, a skier remotely triggered a size 2 slab avalanche from 75 m away on a northeast aspect at 2000 m. This avalanche reportedly stepped down to the mid-February interface.

Reactive storm slabs are likely on Thursday, especially in areas at upper elevations that see more wind effect.

Avoid solar slopes when the sun comes out.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 70 cm of snow sits above a crust on all aspects except on high north-facing terrain, where new snow buries 5 cm of faceted snow overlying a crust from earlier in March. This second crust likely doesn’t exist above 2100 m. Strong southwest winds continue to redistribute some of the fresh snow onto lee slopes at the ridgeline.

A layer of facets and surface hoar from mid-February can be found down around 90 to 110 cm, and snowpack tests are producing sudden planar results on it.

Another layer of facets and surface hoar from late January can be found down 110 to 150 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with isolated flurries up to 5 cm. 10 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Thursday

Cloudy with some sunny periods and isolated flurries. 15 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Friday

Cloudy with sunny periods. 10 to 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C. Freezing level valley bottom.

Saturday

Cloudy with 3 to 7 cm of snow. 15 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Even brief periods of direct sun could produce natural avalanches.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.