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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 25th, 2023–Mar 26th, 2023

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

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

10-20 cm of recent snow and light to moderate southwesterly wind may have formed small wind slabs on lee features below alpine ridgetops.

Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Several rider triggered size 1 wind slab avalanches were reported on lee aspects at upper elevations on Friday.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

10-20 cm of recent snow and light to moderate southwesterly wind may have formed small wind slabs on lee features at upper elevations.

Below the recent snow is a melt-freeze crust, existing on all aspects at treeline and below. The crust extends to mountain tops on sunny aspects. In north facing high alpine terrain the surface snow may have remained cold and dry.

The mid and lower snowpack consists of a number of old crusts and facetted snow that continue to be monitored, particularly in shallow snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy / 10 km/h north ridgetop wind / Low temperature at treeline around -7 C / Freezing level valley bottom

Sunday

Mostly cloudy / 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind / High temperature at treeline around -7 C / Freezing level 1200 m

Monday

Sunny / 20 km/h east ridgetop wind / High temperature at treeline around -4 C / Freezing level 1600 m

Tuesday

Sunny / 50 km/h east ridgetop wind / High temperature at treeline around -3 C / Freezing level 1700 m

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Avoid exposure to slopes that have cornices overhead.
  • When a thick, melt-freeze surface crust is present, avalanche activity is unlikely.

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.