Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 6th, 2024–Mar 7th, 2024

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

Regions

South Coast, Garibaldi, Powell River, Tantalus, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

Raise your guard as you approach wind-exposed elevations and use small slopes to assess wind slab reactivity. Softer snow in sheltered areas should yield the safest, best quality riding.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Other than small loose snow sluffing, no new avalanches were reported Tuesday. On Monday, size 1-1.5 naturally triggered avalanches were observed in specific features. Recent avalanches have been failing on within the recent storm snow (35-50 cm deep), or deeper on buried crusts farther inland.

Reports suggest the upper snowpack is generally increasing in strength, however reactivity may persist in specific areas like steep terrain or on wind loaded features.

Snowpack Summary

In addition to new surface hoar growing in sheltered, especially shaded areas, light wind effect may be found on the surface in some terrain, creating deeper deposits around ridgelines.

Otherwise, over 100 cm of recent storm snow appears to be settling and bonding well to the widespread crust below it. Below this crust, 40 - 70 cm of previous storm snow in some areas sits on a strengthening layer of pellet-like graupel over an earlier crust.

The lower snowpack is well consolidated. While the recent snow has improved travel conditions at lower elevations, many obstacles, such as stumps and rocks lurk just below the surface.

Weather Summary

Wednesday night

Partly cloudy. 5 - 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 400 m.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud, becoming cloudy. 10 - 15 km/h northwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C with freezing level to 800 m.

Friday

Cloudy with increasing snowfall bringing 25-40 cm of new snow, continuing overnight. 50 - 60 km/h south alpine wind. Treeline temperature around -2 °C with freezing level rising to 1200 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with continuing heavy snowfall bringing 30-40 cm of new snow and 2-day totals to 80-110 cm. 70 - 80 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -3°C with freezing level around 1300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • Be carefull with sluffing in steep terrain, especially above cliffs and terrain traps.

Problems

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.

Loose Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.