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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 20th, 2025–Mar 21st, 2025

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

Regions

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

If more than 25 cm of new snow is present the avalanche hazard is considerable.

Use conservative terrain choices until the new snow has had time to stabilize.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, two small (size 1) wind slabs were human-triggered at treeline on a northeast aspect. On Tuesday one size 1 slab avalanche was triggered by a skier on a northeast aspect in the alpine. Two size 1 slabs and one very large (size 3) avalanche were triggered by explosive control work. On Monday a size 3 natural avalanche was reported near Valemount.

Expect to find reactive slabs where more than 20 cm of new snow is found.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30 to 60 cm of snow has fallen since Monday. This new snow overlies a melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes.

Three persistent weak layers of surface hoar and/or facets are found in the middle of the snowpack. The early March layer is between 60 and 120 cm down. The mid-February layer is between 70 and 150 cm deep and a layer from late January is down 150 cm. In lower elevations, these layers sit over a crust.

Below this, the snowpack is well settled.

Weather Summary

Thursday night

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 30 km/h west ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.