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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 31st, 2025–Apr 1st, 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 possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Sea To Sky, South Coast Inland, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Watch for reactive wind slabs at higher elevations.

Large avalanches on buried weak layers remain possible—avoid shallow, rocky terrain and minimize exposure to cornices.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A widespread avalanche cycle occurred during the recent warm-up to size 4, with many stepping down to persistent weak layers. Natural avalanche activity has tapered off, but human-triggered avalanches on these layers remain possible.

On Sunday, cornice falls produced a size 1.5 in the Musical Bumps, and a size 2.5 slab on Tremor (photo below). Small rider-triggered wind slabs were also reported.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 20 cm of wind-affected dry snow exists at high elevations, sitting over the recent melt freeze crust. Below this, the upper snowpack remains wet.

Several persistent weak layers from January, February, and March can be found between 1 and 3 m deep in the Sea to Sky, and up to 2 m deep in the Duffy. These layers were very reactive during the warm spell last week.

At lower elevations, the rain-saturated snowpack tapers quickly with elevation.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with possible flurries. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Freezing level 1000 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 km/h variable ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Wednesday

Clear skies. 30 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature+1 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive 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.