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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.
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

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Tune in to the changing conditions of elevation, aspect, and time of day.

Be cautious in wind-affected terrain and avoid steep sun-exposed slopes and overhead hazard when air temperature is warm or the sun is strong.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Friday near Mount Cain, our field team observed small (size 1.5) dry loose avalanches as new snow was exposed to daytime warming and solar input.

If you head into the backcountry, consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network!

Snowpack Summary

Surfaces cycling diurnally between crust and moist snow on steep southerly aspects and below 1600 m. Otherwise above 1600 m, 10-30 cm of snow from last week has been redistributed by easterly wind.

The mid and lower snowpack are well consolidated and strong.

Weather Summary

Tuesday night

Clear. Light northeast wind. Alpine low -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Wednesday

Sunny. Light northwest wind. Alpine high +5 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Thursday

Increasing cloud. Light southerly wind. Alpine high +3 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Friday

5-15 cm of new snow. Moderate southwest wind. Alpine high -1 °C. Freezing level 900 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches
  • Avoid sun exposed slopes when the solar radiation is strong, especially if snow is moist or wet

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.