Avalanche forecast

Northwest Inland

Mar 25 – 26, 2017Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Mon
Tue
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

A persistent slab above a crust will take time to stabilize. Evaluate the terrain and snowpack carefully before committing to steeper terrain.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    A 20-60 cm thick slab above a rain crust has been reactive to human triggers over the past week. Most activity has been in wind-affected terrain. Persistent slabs also have the potential to step down to deep basal weaknesses near the ground.

Confidence

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

We'll have a brief lull in the action on Sunday before things pick up again on Tuesday. Winter's not done yet!SUNDAY: Sunny with cloudy periods, light to moderate southeast wind, freezing levels 900m, alpine temperature around -5 C.MONDAY: Snow late in the afternoon (5cm). Moderate south wind, freezing level around 1200 m with alpine temperature around -3 C.TUESDAY: 5-15 cm possible by Tuesday afternoon, strong south wind, freezing levels 1200m.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, loose snow avalanches were reported at treeline in steep terrain.Reports from Wednesday are limited to several Size 1 loose wet avalanches running on a sun crust at lower elevations. On Tuesday, a skier near Hazelton remotely triggered a Size 1 avalanche that subsequently triggered two other Size 2 avalanches on a persistent weak layer (30 cm deep). The avalanches occurred on northeast aspects at 1400 m.On Monday, a Size 3 slab avalanche was triggered by a cornice fall on a north aspect at 1700 m north of Kispiox. Over the weekend, several reports describe reactive slabs above a crust, including a Size 2.5 snowmobile-triggered avalanche in the Telkwas and a Size 2 skier-triggered wind slab north of Kispiox.The cooling trend should help stabilize the persistent slab, but human triggering is still possible in steep or unsupported terrain.

Snowpack Summary

Unsettled weather, and 5-12cm new snow with moderate winds is redistributing snow in exposed terrain.Recent warming and sun have likely left a crust on solar aspects and below 1300 m (reportedly breakable crust below 1000m). Recent snow has settled into a 20-60 cm thick slab above an older crust interface. Recent reports suggest the bond to the crust is poor and has resulted in a reactive slab.Weak sugary snow near the ground has been a dormant instability, but it may still be possible to trigger in steep rocky terrain.

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