Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 22nd, 2025–Mar 23rd, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

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 possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Avoid complex and wind-loaded terrain.

Storm slabs will be building throughout Sunday.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Storm slab activity in the size 1-2 range has been consistently reported at upper elevations across the region. A few larger persistent slabs, up to size 3, have also been observed, these were largely triggered by cornice failures.

With more snow and wind in the forecast, we expect this trend to continue into Sunday.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 20 cm of new snow is expected to fall overnight and through Sunday and will build widespread new storm slabs. Due to forecast winds, these slabs are expected to be thickest and most reactive on wind-loaded north and east-facing slopes. Snow may be moist or wet at lower elevations.

Three persistent weak layers consisting of surface hoar, facets, or a crust may be found in the upper to mid-snowpack:

Early March layer down 60 - 100 cm. This is the primary persistent layer of concern.
Mid-Feb layer down 90 - 170 cm.
Late-Jan layer down 100 - 200 cm.

The lingering concern for the Feb and Jan weak layers is in shallow or rocky areas, otherwise, these are unlikely to trigger without a significant load.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow and up to 20 cm coming Sunday night. 25 to 35 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.

Monday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow / potential rain below 1700m. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow / light rain. 15 to 30 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level rising to 2100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.

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.