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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 1st, 2023–Mar 2nd, 2023

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Cold smoke awaits.... get at it before the wind does! Once the wind picks up, back off of exposed terrain features and head to more sheltered zones. Be mindful that deeper instabilities still exist and have produced large recent avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wind slabs have been reactive lately and are expected to continue. Natural wind slab avalanches up to size 2 and wind-triggered loose dry up to size 1.5 were reported in the White Pass area on Tuesday. On Monday, a size 1.5 skier-triggered wind slab was reported in this MIN from Fraser. We really appreciate you for sharing!

Our field team recently observed a large natural wind slab avalanche that stepped down to a deeper weak layer in the Paddy Peak area, likely during the outflow winds on the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

30-40 cm of recent low density storm snow sits over firm, old, wind-hammered surfaces. If the wind picks up on Thursday, all this fresh snow is available to blow around and wind slabs are likely to form in lee terrain features.

In the mid snowpack, a couple of buried crusts have been associated with overlying surface hoar on north to east aspects as high as 1700 m, buried around 50 and 90 cm deep. Recent large avalanches are suspected to have run on the deeper of the two layers.

Weather Summary

Wednesday night

5-10 cm of new snow. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine low -12 ºC.

Thursday

Cloudy with isolated flurries. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine high -10 ºC.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Light variable wind. Alpine high -15 ºC.

Saturday

A mix of sun. Light to moderate easterly wind. Alpine high -18 ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Pay attention to the wind, once it starts to blow fresh sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.
  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Recent new snow may be hiding windslabs that were easily visible before the snow fell.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.

Problems

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.

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.