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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 15th, 2025–Mar 16th, 2025

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

Regions

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

A large amount of recent storm snow rests on weak layers, making the snowpack complex.

Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, a persistent slab (size 2) avalanche was observed on the Duffey Lake road. It naturally failed on the early March persistent weak layer, with a step-down to the mid-February weak layer.

On Friday, numerous solar-induced avalanches were reported in the Birkenhead region, with a notable persistent slab avalanche (size 3.5) that ran full path on a northeasterly alpine slope.

North-facing alpine and treeline terrain are seeing continued avalanche activity.

Snowpack Summary

An additional 5 cm is expected on Saturday night, which will bring this week's storm totals to 80 to 150 cm of new snow. This sits on a weak layer formed in early March that consists of facets or surface hoar that overlie a crust on all aspects except high north-facing slopes.

Weak layers formed in mid-February and late-January are now buried 80 to 175 cm deep.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 C. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4°C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level rising to 1200 m.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and clouds. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive 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.