Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 17th, 2026–Jan 18th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

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

Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

As the surface crust breaks down the likelihood of triggering an avalanche will increase.

It is uncertain how the continued warmth will affect the snowpack so watch for signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

Uncertainty is due to rapidly fluctuating freezing levels.
Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Avalanche Summary

January 15

Several large (size 2-2.5) windslab avalanches where reported (likely from a few days before).
The wind slabs where naturally triggered during the past storm with a few of them being triggered by cornice failures.

January 12

size 3 avalanche was observed, on a lee aspect feature that likely failed during the very warm temperatures.
If you head out, please share any photos or observations to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

The snow surface is highly wind-affected in exposed alpine terrain. At treeline and below, the snow surfaces has formed a crust with moist snow beneath it.

Below 1600 m the surface crust is up to 20 cm thick and poses additional slip and fall hazards.

A layer of facets is buried around 50 to 100 cm deep and is slowly gaining strength.

The mid and lower snowpack have no layers of concern. Snowpack depths are generally around 150-200 cm deep at treeline.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. An above freezing layer from 1000m to 3100 m.

Sunday
Sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. An above freezing layer from 1500m to 3100 m.

Monday
Sunny. 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 2 °C. An above freezing layer from 1500m to 3300 m.

Tuesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 10 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. An above freezing layer from 1500m to 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

The more the snowpack warms up and weakens, the more conservative your terrain selection should be.
Avoid steep, sun-exposed slopes when the air temperature is warm or when solar radiation is strong.
Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.