Spring is here with a bang! Avalanche activity will continue to increase with the temperatures. If you choose to travel in avalanche terrain be sure to start and end your day early and avoid overhead hazard.
Weather Forecast
Get your hawaiian shirt out and lather on that sunscreen! Expect light winds and increasing temperatures through the forecast period with little to no overnight freeze. Alpine Highs will be in the 5 degree range, while in town it will reach 12. The clear skies and strong March sun will work to further increase the temperatures on solar aspects.
Snowpack Summary
Wind slabs formed on Thursday and Friday and loose snow in sheltered areas are sitting on a sun crust on steep south aspects, facets in sheltered areas, and hard wind affected surfaces everywhere else. The lower snowpack remains weak and facetted, and as the warm temperatures continue there is a possibility this layer could produce large avalanches
Avalanche Summary
A number of Size 2 loose avalanches were observed on Mt. Bertha and along the Akamina Parkway over the past 2 days. They entrained a substantial part of the facetted snowpack in some areas, making them larger than one might expect. In the Castle Mountain region, there were reports of Size 3 avalanches in the past week on layers deep in the snowpack
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.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.