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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 17th, 2024–Mar 18th, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, Retallack, Whatshan.

⚠️ Avoid being in or under avalanche terrain ⚠️Natural avalanches continue to be likely while it's warm and sunny.

Check out our latest blog for more information.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, a widespread natural avalanche cycle up to size 3 continued, with Persistent slab avalanches being the most common. A few remote triggered avalanches were also reported.

On Friday, a few suspected machine remote avalanches were observed southeast of Revelstoke, see photo for details.

Widespread natural avalanche activity is expected to continue until the temperature drops enough for a hard surface crust to start forming.

Snowpack Summary

Moist or wet snow surfaces extend into the alpine on all aspects. The exception may be high, shaded, north-facing terrain.

In general 40 to 60 cm of recent snow is settling rapidly over sun crusts and wind-affected surfaces.

Below this, 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 hard widespread crust formed in early February is buried about 80 to 150 cm deep. This crust has a layer of facets above it and continues to be reactive.

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

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Clear. Light west ridgetop wind. Freezing level dropping to 2500 m. Treeline low around 4 °C.

Monday

Sunny. Light west ridgetop wind. Freezing level 2500 m, 2000 m in the far north end of the forecast area. Treeline temperature around 4 °C.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy. Light south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around 3 °C. Freezing level gradually dropping.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy. Light snow expected above 1500 m. Up to 10 cm in some areas. Light southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain free of overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
  • Minimize exposure to sun-exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Avoid lingering or regrouping in runout zones.
  • Cornices may release remotely when approached.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.