Current Mountain Snow and Weather Conditions:
Fernie
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Last 24 Hrs:
-1 Hr
+1 Hr
Forecast
10 Day snow total
10 day rain total
24 Hour Snow total
top/bottom
Location:
17.3 cm
17.3 mm
0 cm
1195-1926m
fernie
Avalanche Bulletin
Fernie Issued by: avalanche-canada Issued at: Tue Mar 25, 2025 16:00 PST Valid Until Wed Mar 26, 2025 16:00 PST
As temperatures rise, expect a heavy, wet upper snowpack to produce slab and loose wet avalanches, especially on sun-exposed slopes.
Cornices are large, looming and becoming weak with warm temperatures and sun. A large cornice fall can be dangerous on its own, and can also trigger deep slabs on slopes below.
A persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets is buried 100 to 180 cm deep. This layer may become reactive as temperatures peak on Wednesday. Avalanche Summary Numerous natural and artificially triggered size 1 to 2.5 storm slab avalanches were reported on Monday. Looking forward, we can expect this activity to continue as temperatures continue to climb, with the possibility of deeper avalanches running on buried weak layers. Snowpack SummaryThe upper snowpack is heavy and moist or wet at all elevations. Where still intact, a crust is buried 30 to 100 cm deep, except on high-elevation north and east-facing slopes. A surface hoar or facet layer from late January is buried 100 to 180 cm deep on north and east aspects at treeline and above. Although it been observed to be improving, we won't rule it out as a failure plane as balmy temperatures warm and weaken the snowpack on Wednesday. Weather SummaryTuesday night Clearing skies. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +5 °C. Freezing level rising to 2700 m. Wednesday Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +10 °C. Freezing level rising to 3000 m. Thursday Flurries bringing 1 to 5 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 2500 to 2300 m. Friday Flurries bringing 1 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1000 to 2000 m. More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast. Confidence: moderateWe are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather. Uncertainty is due to the fact that persistent slabs are particularly difficult to forecast. CrowsNest Issued by: avalanche-canada Issued at: Tue Mar 25, 2025 16:00 PST Valid Until Wed Mar 26, 2025 16:00 PST
A persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets is buried 70 to 120 cm deep. This layer may become reactive as temperatures peak on Wednesday.
Cornices are becoming weak with warm temperatures and sun. A large cornice fall can be dangerous on its own, and can also trigger deep slabs on slopes below.
Loose wet avalanches will become increasingly likely with rising temperatures and strong sun. Avalanche Summary On Monday, numerous natural and artificially triggered wet loose and wind slab avalanches were observed to size 2. Large natural persistent slab avalanches have run on buried weak layers in recent days. A size 2.5 was observed near Castle on Monday and several can be seen in this MIN from Mear Lake on Saturday. Looking forward, we can expect to see an uptick of persistent slab avalanche activity as balmy temperatures continue to weaken the snowpack. Snowpack SummarySurfaces are becoming moist to wet on all aspects as freezing levels climb up above the highest peaks. Where still intact, a melt-freeze crust is found 20 to 40 cm deep, except on high-elevation north and east-facing slopes. A persistent weak layer of surface hoar or facets from late January is buried 70 to 120 cm deep. It is most likely to be triggered on steep, rocky, convex slopes on northerly and easterly aspects at treeline and above. Weather SummaryTuesday night Clearing skies. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level rising to 2700 m. Wednesday Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +7 °C. Freezing level rising to 3000 m. Thursday Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level falling to 2400 m. Friday Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries. 10 to 20 km/h east ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1000 to 2000 m. More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast. Confidence: highWe are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather. Cranbrook Issued by: avalanche-canada Issued at: Tue Mar 25, 2025 16:00 PST Valid Until Wed Mar 26, 2025 16:00 PST
Several persistent weak layers exist in the upper meter of the snowpack. As temperatures continue to climb on Wednesday, these layers are expected to fail naturally, producing very large and destructive avalanches.
As temperatures rise, expect a heavy, wet upper snowpack to produce storm slab and loose wet avalanches, especially on sun-exposed slopes.
Cornices are large, looming and becoming weak with warm temperatures and sun. A large cornice fall can be dangerous on its own, and can also trigger deep slabs on slopes below. Avalanche Summary Widespread large natural avalanche activity was reported on Monday and Tuesday, including wet loose to size 2 and storm & persistent slabs to size 3. On Sunday, an extremely large avalanche, suspected size 4, was observed running to valley bottom and climbing up the other side. We can expect large, destructive persistent slab avalanche activity to continue as temperatures continue to climb on Wednesday. Snowpack SummaryA moist to wet upper snowpack snow sits over a crust. Below lies a complex snowpack with several weak layers which are currently concerns for triggering persistent slab avalanches:
This complex snowpack combined with dramatic warming makes travel in avalanche terrain dangerous. Weather SummaryTuesday night Clearing skies. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +6 °C. Freezing level rising to 2800 m. Wednesday Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +9 °C. Freezing level 3100 m. Thursday Cloudy with rain turning to snow, 5 to 10 cm. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level falling to 2000 m. Friday Cloudy 5 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1000 to 2000 m. More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast. Confidence: highWe are confident the snowpack will rapidly lose strength with the arrival of the forecast weather. |
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**This page is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a guide or gurantee of weather or conditions accuracy. Use with good judgement and explore with caution**
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