Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 7th, 2026–Apr 8th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

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

Still a bit of winter hanging on in the alpine. Cornices yet to drop, dry snow yet to shed in a wet loose cycle, maybe even a small wind slab when you enter your line. Pack sunglasses, not blinders!

Confidence

Moderate

We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast.
We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.

Avalanche Summary

Explosives control in the Duffey on Monday produced mainly small wet loose avalanches but also a few slabs up to size 1.5. One of these failed on the 30 - 40 cm-deep late-March crust.

On Sunday, wet loose activity was reported to size 2, along with several wind slabs. Check out the report for one of them HERE. Mild temperatures since then have likely helped to stabilize wind slabs, but local operators are still including them in hazard assessments.

If you get out, post a MIN!

Snowpack Summary

Spring-like melt-freeze cycles now characterize a daily evolution of surface conditions on all but north-facing slopes above 2000 m, where about 10 cm of dry snow may still be found. It overlies old wind-affected snow above this elevation and firm crust below.

Two older crusts exist 1-1.5 m deep at treeline and above. Concern for these layers is limited to high north aspects where large cornice fall may have enough force to trigger a slab. The mid and lower snowpack are otherwise well settled.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level falling from 1800 m to 1500 m.

Wednesday
Sunny. 15 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 1 °C. Freezing level to 2100 m.

Thursday
Sunny. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 3 °C. Freezing level to 2400 m.

Friday
Sunny. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 5 °C. Freezing level to 2700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.
Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

Problems

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.

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.