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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 21st, 2020–Mar 22nd, 2020

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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.

Regions

South Coast Inland.

Keep your risk tolerance to a minimum while public health resources are strained. Be sure to post your observations to the Mountain Information Network if you are heading out! 

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

Saturday night: Clear. Light north winds shifting west. 

Sunday: Increasing cloud. Light to moderate southwest winds increasing over the day and overnight. Alpine temperatures dropping from around -5 to -7.

Monday: Cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5 cm of new snow, up to 10 cm with overnight accumulations. Light southwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -9.

Tuesday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow, continuing overnight. Light northwest winds. Alpine high temperatures around -10.

Avalanche Summary

Warm sunny weather over recent days resulted in many wet loose avalanches on steep south-facing slopes across the region while large glide slab releases have been reported around the Coquihalla.

Looking forward, incoming cloud cover and cooling temperatures should temper natural wet loose and cornice activity on Sunday.

If you decide to travel in the backcountry, consider sharing your observations with us and fellow recreationists via the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

Surface conditions are a variable mix of crusts, hard wind slabs, and soft faceted snow, with the surface becoming moist on sun-exposed slopes and at lower elevations each day. The mid snowpack is well settled and strong.

Northern parts of the region (e.g.. Duffey/Hurley/Gold Bridge) have had a deep instability lingering at the base of the snowpack for most of the season. While this layer has gained strength over the past month (the last reported avalanche was on Feb 17), it is still worth considering when assessing shallow, rocky slopes in this part of the region.

Terrain and Travel

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Use caution on large alpine slopes, especially around thin areas that may propagate to deeper instabilities.
  • Minimize your exposure time below cornices.

Problems

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.