March 26, 2003 SOUTH COAST REGION WEATHER: Cool, cloudy weather characterized the early part of this week. Up to 15 cm of low density snow accumulated from scattered flurries. The wind remained moderate out of the SW. The forecast predicts the weather will remain much the same until Friday, when a warm and wet system currently brewing out in the central Pacific reaches the outer coast Friday night. This will bring more wind, rising temperatures and potentially heavy snow in the alpine, with rain below near valley bottom. SNOWPACK: The recent storm snow from flurries, generally about 20 cm thick in the alpine, still sheared easily at the interface just below on Wednesday. Below that, a further 30 cm of soft slab still had some shears preserved as well. All these are expected to continue to improve over the week. Deeper instabilities are still showing up in snowpack tests, including some shears now reacting on the old bed surfaces from avalanches occurring recently and now reloaded by storm snow and wind transport. AVALANCHES: Very little activity is now being reported. FORECAST OF AVALANCHE DANGER UP TO FRIDAY EVENING (March 28th) ALPINE ^Ö Moderate TREELINE - Moderate BELOW TREELINE - Moderate TRAVEL ADVISORY: This year is not an average winter snowpack! Although spring on the coast generally means there is little to be concerned about any more, this type of thinking can get you into big trouble this year. Don^Òt stop investigating slopes with a pit before going into them. Talk to folks that have been into the areas you are planning on visiting and find out as much as you can. As mentioned above, even old bed surfaces are a lingering concern this year. NORTH COLUMBIA REGION WEATHER: High cloud and cool temperatures predominated for the first part of the week, although some sunny breaks occurred as well. Scattered snow flurries managed to accumulate a further 25 cm of storm snow in the alpine since Monday. The winds have remained moderate or less out of the SW. The forecast predicts the weather will remain much the same until the weekend, when a storm brings rising temperatures, increasing winds and potentially heavy moisture late Friday or early Saturday. SNOWPACK: A crust formed to at least 2000m elevation early in the week when the snow surface that was wetted by the rain event last Saturday cooled off Monday. This is now buried by 25 cm of low density snow. Below the crust, a layer of moist snow up to 50 cm thick is gradually cooling and gaining strength. The February 15th buried surface hoar layer is now down up to 150 cm and is still failing, although less frequently now. The mid and lower snowpack still hold the many other preserved weaknesses, the most serious being the November curst down near the snowpack base. AVALANCHES: Avalanche frequency has been decreasing steadily all week. Most releases now reported are either human or explosive triggered, and are quite large. Unfortunately, one avalanche failing to glacier ice Wednesday claimed the life of a backcountry skier near Valemount. FORECAST OF AVALANCHE DANGER UP TO FRIDAY EVENING (March 28th) ALPINE ^Ö Considerable, areas of high TREELINE ^Ö Considerable, areas of high BELOW TREELINE - Considerable TRAVEL ADVISORY: North facing slopes still represent slightly higher danger. Cornice fall is the most likely cause for any deep releases. Skiers or sledders moving into shallow, rocky terrain at treeline or above are the most likely element for human triggering right now. SOUTH COLUMBIA REGION WEATHER: Cool, cloudy conditions prevailed this week, although daytime highs at lower elevations still got to as much as plus 6. Cloudy conditions kept the nights from getting much cooler than -7. Winds were generally light out of the SW. The weather forecast predicts more of the same until the weekend, when a storm comes onshore, bringing rising freezing levels, more snow and increasing winds. SNOWPACK: A crust formed on the moist snow surface on Monday and this is now under a light dusting of snow from occasional snow showers early in the week. Below the crust, a layer of moist now up to 50 cm thick is found, although this is gradually cooling at treeline and above. The February 15th buried surface hoar layer is down about 150 cm and below that lies a series of persistent instabilities, the most serious of which is the November crust down near the ground. Some observations of weak facets failing just above glacial ice in the high alpine have been reported. AVALANCHES: Activity is decreasing in frequency since the weekend, but any slides that are occurring are in the larger size classes. Heli bombing produced various results as large as size 3.5 as late as Wednesday. FORECAST OF AVALANCHE DANGER UP TO FRIDAY EVENING (March 28th) ALPINE ^Ö Considerable, areas of high TREELINE ^Ö Considerable, areas of high BELOW TREELINE - Considerable TRAVEL ADVISORY: Your greatest concern this week may be the lingering potential for deep releases on the same persistent instabilities that have been a concern for some time now. Cornice fall and heli bombing still produces fracture lines up to 2 meters deep! A good bet may be deciding to stick to conservative, non-committing terrain for some time yet. KOOTENAY BOUNDARY REGION WEATHER: The weather remained cloudy and cool, although some lower elevation stations reported daytime highs of as much as plus 5. Winds remained generally calm. The weather forecast predicts this will not change much until the weekend, when a storm arrives to deliver more wind, moisture and rising freezing levels. SNOWPACK: A light dusting of storm snow lies above a crust formed early in the week. Some old wind slab is found below this in the alpine, while at lower elevations the snow is wet below the crust. In the mid and lower snowpack, a series of crusts, buried surface hoar and preserved facets continue to give a complicated snowpack. AVALANCHES: Some sluffing and small slab releases to size 1.5 were occurring above the crust in the upper snowpack, both naturally and more predominantly with human triggers. FORECAST OF AVALANCHE DANGER UP TO FRIDAY EVENING (March 28th) ALPINE - Considerable TREELINE - Considerable BELOW TREELINE ^Ö Moderate TRAVEL ADVISORY: March is statistically the worst month of the year, with over 25% of serious incidents likely to occur then. This season, there have already been 24 fatalities in avalanches, with 8 of them occurring in March. Consider sticking to conservative, non-committing terrain for a while yet, since the many persistent instabilities buried in this winters snowpack are still producing occasional but regular, widely scattered large and dangerous releases. Hone your skills, lower your expectations a bit and take fewer chances this winter. SOUTH ROCKIES REGION WEATHER: Weather conditions have been predominantly cloudy and cool, with light winds from the SW. Snow showers have added from 10 to 30 cm of snow to the alpine since Monday. The weather forecast calls for more of the same to continue through to Friday. SNOWPACK: A crust formed at the surface Monday as the moist snow cooled, and this is now under a dusting of snow in the alpine. Several more crusts are found near the surface at some alpine locations, while at lower elevations the snowpack is warm and moist. The mid snowpack still has some strength, although this is subtly eroding as spring approaches. The lower snowpack is weak facets and depth hoar. AVALANCHES: Avalanche activity has been decreasing in frequency since the weekend although surface layer releases to size 1.5 were still being reported Wednesday. A human triggered size 3 failing to ground occurred north of Fernie Wednesday, claiming the lives of 3 sledders that were fully buried. FORECAST OF AVALANCHE DANGER UP TO FRIDAY EVENING (March 28th) ALPINE - Considerable TREELINE - Considerable BELOW TREELINE ^Ö Moderate TRAVEL ADVISORY: This is not going to be a normal winter for either snowpack or avalanche statistics. Consider sticking to conservative terrain even though the spring period is approaching and warm temperatures are promoting a slow trend of improving stability in the snowpack. The mountains are not going anywhere and there are many more winters to come yet. Hone your skills, lower your expectations a bit and take fewer chances this winter.