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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2025–Mar 11th, 2025

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

Glacier.

Big changes to the snowpack deserve big respect!

Winter returned to the high country. Heavy snowfall over the weekend dumped 90cm, while strong winds helped create surface slabs.

Time is needed for the new snow to bond with the underlying layers. Have patience. Allow the snowpack to adjust to the new load!

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A large natural avalanche cycle (up to size 3.5) began overnight Saturday and continued through until Monday am. Numerous avalanches reached the ends of their runouts.

Artillery control Sunday night produced avalanches up to size 4, with fast-moving powder clouds and slow-moving, spring-like wet debris.

A group up the Asulkan Valley triggered a size 2 avalanche Sunday, which partially buried one of their party members.

Snowpack Summary

A big ol' dump! Up to 90cm fell on Fidelity over the weekend. This, combined with strong to extreme SW winds, has formed a widespread storm slab at all elevation bands. This slab is bonding poorly to old breakable crusts, widespread surface hoar, and sastrugi in the Alpine. Monitor this interface!

The two persistent weak layers (PWL) from Jan/Feb are now buried well over a metre. These could be step-down layers if the storm slab overloads them, resulting in large avalanches.

Weather Summary

Unsettled weather ahead this week, with a weak front moving through Thurs.

Tonight Flurries, trace amounts. Alp low -10°C. Ridge winds SW 15-35km/h. Freezing level (FZL) 600m.

Tues Flurries, trace of snow. Alp high -6°C. Ridge winds SW 10-40km/h. FZL 1300m.

Wed Cloudy, isolated flurries. Alp high -2°C. Ridge wind S 25-35km/h. FZL 1800m.

Thurs Snow, 10cm. Alp high -3°C. Ridge wind SW 15-30km/h. FZL 1500m.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to buried surface hoar.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.