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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 28th, 2025–Mar 29th, 2025

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

Regions

Cariboos, North Rockies, McBride, Quesnel, Sugarbowl, East Kakwa, Kakwa, McGregor, Pine Pass, Renshaw, Robson, Tumbler.

WIND SLAB ASPECT UPDATED FRIDAY 7:40 AM PDT.

While danger is decreasing, lingering instabilities may still exist.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

Warm weather on Tuesday and Wednesday triggered numerous wet loose avalanches, mostly size 2. Earlier in the week, a few size 2 wind slab avalanches and cornice failures were also observed.

Although no recent persistent slab avalanches have been reported, this remains the main problem to monitor. The avalanches shown below from Barkerville last week illustrate this problem well.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of snow sits over a crust in most areas, except shady aspects in the high alpine where soft or wind affected dry snow may be found.

A persistent weak layer from early March, 40 to 80 cm deep, most likely exists as surface hoar on sheltered north and east aspects at treeline and above. Its distribution is variable, and there have been no substantial reports of recent avalanches, but it should still be considered when evaluating slopes.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind, easing. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Monday

Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.
  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.