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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 11th, 2025–Mar 12th, 2025

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

Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Howson.

Although persistent slab avalanche activity has tapered, remain cautious as there is still potential to trigger buried weak layers.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Reports from the last few days focus on several storm slab and wind slab avalanches size 1.5 to 2.5 in the alpine and treeline elevation bands. These were natural and skier triggered. Two were remotely triggered (from a distance) and were suspected of running on a recently buried layer of surface hoar 30 to 40 cm deep.

On Sunday there was a report of a natural size 3.5 persistent slab avalanche in the far west of the region in the Howson range.

Snowpack Summary

20-30 cm of recent new snow is being redistributed by primarily southerly winds. This new snow fell on a widespread layer of large surface hoar crystals, which may sit on a crust on solar aspects and at low elevations.

A layer of facets, surface hoar and/or a crust from mid-February are buried 50 to 100 cm deep. This layer produced large natural and human-triggered avalanches through the previous week.

The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated with no concerns at this time.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, accumulation 1 to 2 cm. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries. 15 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with possible flurries. 15 to 25 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large 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.