Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 6th, 2017–Mar 7th, 2017

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Glacier.

Human triggered avalanches are still likely today. The new snow will require more time to bond to underlying surfaces and large avalanches are still possible.

Weather Forecast

Today a cold upper trough moves through southern bc bringing isolated flurries with sunny breaks to our area. Winds will be 20-40 kph from the southwest with freezing levels remaining below 700m. The weather will remain unsettled throughout the week with potential for small amounts of snowfall every day.

Snowpack Summary

The storm snow totals 50-60cm from the last few days. Strong/extreme southerly winds built up touchy windslabs on all aspects in the alpine. These widespread slabs have been failing within the storm layers, as well as digging down to fail on deeper persistent sliding layers (crusts or surface hoar).

Avalanche Summary

Widespread avalanche activity up to sz 3.5 in the previous 36 hrs in the highway corridor as well as in the backcountry. Numerous fracture lines were observed from the valley-bottom that showed wide propagation. In a recent close call Skiers remote triggered a sz 2.5 slab avalanche from 200m away on Teddy Bear Trees partially burying several skiers

Confidence

Due to the number and quality of field observations

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.

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.