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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 3rd, 2024–Apr 4th, 2024

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

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

Be especially cautious in wind-affected terrain, where human-triggering is more likely.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A natural avalanche cycle occurred Tuesday night during the storm where numerous slab avalanches were triggered over steep northerly alpine terrain. Skiers triggered loose dry and loose wet avalanches on steep slopes on Wednesday around Duffey Lake.

If you go into the backcountry, please consider submitting to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 30 cm of new snow has accumulated at higher elevations, with greater amounts found in leeward alpine terrain. This overlies a moist snow surface or a crust on all aspects, except north-facing alpine slopes where dry snow was found before the storm.

The facet/crust layer that produced large avalanches during early March is buried 80-150 cm deep. While no recent avalanche activity has been observed on this layer, it continues to produce concerning snowpack test results. It has become a low-probability, high-consequence problem on north-facing slopes above 2000 m.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy with convective flurries, 0 to 3 cm of accumulation. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level at valley bottom.

Thursday

Partly cloudy with convective flurries, 0 to 3 cm of accumulation. 30 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature rising to 0 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature rising to +5 °C. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.

Saturday

Partly cloud with isolated flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Give the new snow time to settle and stabilize before pushing into bigger terrain.
  • Use caution on large alpine slopes, especially around thin areas that may propagate to deeper instabilities.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Remember that in the spring strong solar radiation and warm temperatures can weaken the snow in a matter of minutes.

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.