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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2024–Mar 11th, 2024

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 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.

Regions

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

Choose conservative, low consequence terrain.

Rider and remote triggering of large avalanches are an ongoing concern.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity has been tapering off for the past few days. Generally only small rider and remotely triggered avalanches have been reported. The exception is one size 3 natural wind slab on a steep northeast alpine feature on Saturday. Despite this trend we remain concerned about the early February crust/facet layer and expect it to remain rider triggerable.

Snowpack Summary

Strong winds have formed wind slab on northerly aspects and scoured south facing terrain above treeline. The snow surface will likely become moist at lower elevations.

Two layers of surface hoar and sun crust can be found in the top meter of the snowpack. One from late February and the other from early March.

A thick and hard widespread crust that formed in early February is buried about 70 to 120 cm deep. This crust has a layer of facets above it in many areas.

The snowpack below this crust is generally not concerning except in shallow alpine terrain.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

A mix of clear skies and cloud with 1 to 3 cm of new snow. 20 to 40 km/h south alpine wind. Treeline temperature -6°C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 15 to 35 km/h south alpine wind. Treeline temperature -4°C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of  new snow. 10 to 30 km/h south alpine wind. Freezing level up to 1700 m.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny with trace amounts of new snow. 10 to 25 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -2°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Conservative terrain selection is critical, choose only well supported, low consequence lines.
  • Remote triggering is a concern, watch out for adjacent and overhead slopes.
  • Be aware of the potential for surprisingly large avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Problems

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.

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.