Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 6th, 2025–Mar 7th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie.

Continue to choose simple, mellow terrain. Signs of buried weak layers may be hard to find.

Be especially cautious on high north-facing slopes, and steep slopes in the sun.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, mostly small, rider triggered dry and wet loose avalanches were reported in steep terrain.

Looking forward: Avalanches on buried weak layers may be difficult to trigger, but if one is triggered, it is likely to be large and destructive.

Snowpack Summary

The upper snowpack is currently quite variable on different aspects, and across the forecast area. 5 to 15 cm of new snow is settling over a widespread melt-freeze crust that exists everywhere but some high north-facing slopes. This crust has been reported to be generally supportive to skis, and anywhere from a couple cm to 20 cm thick. In some places, there is even a thin, breakable crust on shaded alpine slopes.

Two concerning weak layers are present in the mid snowpack: facets/surface hoar or a crust from mid-February buried 30-70 cm, and faceted snow/surface hoar/crust from late January buried 60-100 cm.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Clear. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to 1200 m. Treeline low -7 °C.

Friday

Sunny. 15 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind in the afternoon. Freezing level rising to 1900 m. Treeline high 0 °C

Saturday

Mostly cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to valley bottom overnight, rising to 1700 m through the day.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. 25 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level falling to 750 m overnight, rising to 1700 m through the day.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be aware of the potential for large, destructive avalanches due to deeply buried weak layers.
Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
In times of uncertainty, conservative terrain choices are our best defense.
A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

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.

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.