Avalanche forecast

Northwest Coastal

Mar 25 – 26, 2026Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Fri
Sat
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avoid steep, rocky, and wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Very large human-triggered avalanches are possible.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Recent winds have varied in direction, so be cautious of wind-loaded pockets on all aspects.

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    1.5–3

    Cornices are large, looming, and may trigger large persistent slabs on slopes below.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3.5

    Persistent weak layers of crusts/facets or surface hoar in the top 200 cm of the snowpack may be possible to trigger.

    This is a low-probability, high-consequence problem.

Confidence

Low

  • We are uncertain about alpine conditions due to limited field observations.
  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

In the past few days, a few natural, cornice-triggered, and skier-triggered wind slabs up to size 2 were reported. A few natural cornice failures occurred, but did not pull slabs on the slopes below.

In the neighbouring region, a fatal avalanche accident occurred north of Terrace on March 22. Available details can be found here.

Observations in this region are limited, and there's uncertainty about buried weak layers in the mid snowpack. Choose conservative terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Cornices are large and looming. Avoid travelling underneath them.

last week's 20 to 50 cm of storm snow has been redistributed by strong southwest shifting to northeast winds, creating wind slabs on a variety of aspects. This sits on a variety of old surfaces, including surface hoar, facets, crusts, and/or wind-scoured snow.

There are multiple persistent weak layers consisting of crust/facets or surface hoar in the top 200 cm of the snowpack. We have limited information on the distribution and reactivity of these layers.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Friday

Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Saturday

Mix of sun and clouds. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • Cornice failures could trigger large and destructive avalanches.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

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