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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 28th, 2023–Mar 29th, 2023

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
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, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Northeast winds may have created reactive wind slabs in areas where you may not typically see them.

Pay attention as you transition into wind-affected terrain and avoid sunny slopes later in the day.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity was reported since Friday.

Several rider-triggered size 1 wind slab avalanches were reported on lee aspects at upper elevations on Friday.

If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

At higher elevations, winds that have switched from the southwest to the northeast may have developed wind slabs on all aspects.

Below the recent snow is a melt-freeze crust, existing on all aspects at treeline and below. The crust extends to mountain tops on sunny aspects. In north-facing high alpine terrain, the surface snow may have remained cold and dry.

The mid and lower snowpack consists of a number of old crusts and facetted snow that continue to be monitored, particularly in shallow snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear, no accumulation, winds northeast 35 to 40 km/h, freezing levels coming down to 1000 m.

Wednesday

Sunny with few clouds, no accumulation, winds northeast 30 km/h switching to west 15 km/h, freezing levels up to 2000 m.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud, potential trace accumulation late in the day, winds west 15 to 20 km/h, freezing levels to 1600 m.

Friday

Cloudy, 5 cm accumulation, winds southwest 25 km/h, freezing levels 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.
  • A crust on the surface will help bind the snow together, but may make for tough travel conditions.
  • Avoid exposure to slopes that have cornices overhead.

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 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.