Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 9th, 2026–Apr 10th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely.

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, North Shore, Sasquatch, Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

One more day of exploring in the sun before cloud and drizzle dampen the mood. Bring sharp tools to deal with hard crust and start and finish early to avoid getting caught in isothermal snow.

Confidence

High

We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast.

Avalanche Summary

A cornice failure was observed near the Lions on the North Shore at around noon on Monday, believed to have failed within 12 hours of that time. Check out the report HERE.

Otherwise, no new avalanches have been reported and little activity is expected under current conditions.

Observations are starting to taper off in many regions. If you get out into the backcountry, post a MIN!

Snowpack Summary

All of the region's snowpack has now seen temperatures well above 0 °C. Clear overnight periods will allow surface crusts to form before daytime warming softens the surface again. Limited dry snow may remain on the region's highest north-facing slopes.

Expect surfaces to become moist during the day and even isothermal on sun-facing slopes. Wet loose avalanche danger emerges when this condition is in play, a counterpoint to slip-and-fall hazards when and where the surface is well-frozen. Outside of oscillating surface conditions, there are no layers of concern in the snowpack, which exists mainly above 1000 m.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

Friday
Sunny before clouding over near end-of-day. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 10 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers, 1 to 4 mm. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers, 1 to 4 mm. 10 to 15 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
Cornices often break further back than expected; give them a wide berth when traveling on ridgetops.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.