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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 1st, 2019–Mar 2nd, 2019

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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast.

Persistent slab avalanche problems are tricky to manage. They tend to linger, waiting for a trigger. Check out the Forecasters' BLOG for more details.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number and quality of field observations

Weather Forecast

Heading into March feels more like January. The strengthening ridge will bring us another fairly long stretch of cold, dry and clear weather.SATURDAY/ SUNDAY/ MONDAY: A mix of sun and cloud with treeline temperatures near -5. Light to moderate ridgetop wind from the northeast through the forecast period.

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, no new avalanches were reported. On February 18th a fatal avalanche occurred on a steep feature at treeline elevation in the Mount Seymour backcountry (see here for incident report).

Snowpack Summary

In exposed areas the upper snowpack has been highly wind affected and stiff supportive wind slabs exist. In sheltered areas you can still find pockets of low density snow. Below the surface a crust/ graupel and in some places surface hoar layer can be found down 50 cm. These layers have not been producing conclusive test results. More concerning is the deeper interface down 80-120 cm which is a crust/ facet combination and still producing moderate sudden collapse snowpack test results. The bond of the upper snowpack on this layer is weaker on north aspects and triggering a large avalanche on this interface with the weight of a person is possible at treeline.The reactivity of this layer appears to be worse in the North Shore Mountains. The problem is not typical for the region and we expect this persistent layer to linger into the future. The lower snowpack is settled and strong.Please check out these MIN reports for more snowpack information:Diggin' Mt. SeymourAST Mt Seymour

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.