Avalanche Conditions Report -#8

WATCH HERE https://youtu.be/0TMsVxcIhPM?si=Eq8lssgSF_ZxF4th

Welcome to Episode 8 of the 23/24 Avalanche Conditions Report with Jason Wishlow, brought to you by whitewater skir esort, bscpow, & state of the snowpack. It's March 7, 2024 and while winter is well underway, its return has come with scary conditions.

We have had a very large storm and avalanche cycle with Whitewater receiving 150cm of snow in a week along with strong SW winds. This loaded up to 3m of snow over our problem layer that was buried on February 2.

This February 2 melt-freeze crust is 10-50cm thick and is a significant bed surface. Up to 5cm of large facets sit over the crust, are failing, and are causing large, destructive avalanches. AvCan issued a Special Public Avalanche Warning (SPAW) which continues through today with natural, skier triggered, remote, sympathetic, and controlled avalanches up to size 4 observed in our region.

This layer will persist and it's still very much possible to trigger avalanches, especially in thin to deep snowpack areas. Please use extreme caution in alpine and tree line leeward terrain. As spring arrives, the snow over this layer will get heavier and the likelihood of triggering significant avalanches will increase.

Thanks for tuning in this season, stay safe out there, and be sure to always check Avalanche Canada before heading into the backcountry!