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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 30th, 2024–Dec 31st, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

A problematic weak layer has potential to surprise riders in features where a cohesive slab has formed over it.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Our field team observed several slab avalanches up to size 2 in the Telkwas on Monday, mostly in wind-loaded lees, all running on the December crust.

Snowpack Summary

A dusting of new snow blankets heavily wind-affected surfaces in the alpine and at treeline. Pockets of soft snow can be found in sheltered, lower angle terrain.

A significant weak layer is just reaching threshold with 30 to 70 cm of snow sitting above it, depending on wind loading patterns. The layer involves weak grains of surface hoar and facets sitting over a hard crust. This layer is likely to persist as an avalanche problem as it gets buried deeper.

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled and bonded.

Weather Summary

Monday night

Mainly cloudy. Isolated flurries with minimal accumulation. <20 km/h variable wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy. Isolated flurries with minimal accumulation. 20 to 40 km/h southeast wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 40 km/h east wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy. Isolated flurries with minimal accumulation. 40 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.