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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 24th, 2025–Jan 25th, 2025

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

Regions

West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Goat, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

The main concern is wind slabs, especially in areas where they overlie weak surface hoar.

Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff or slabby.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, a skier triggered a small (size 1) slab north of Trout Lake on a northeast-facing alpine slope.

On Wednesday, a size 1.5 naturally triggered wind slab was observed in the Valhallas out of a steep, rocky, southeast-facing slope.

Due to wind slabs overlying weak surface hoar in some areas, we expect wind slabs to remain triggerable for longer than usual.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 15 cm of low-density snow has fallen over the last few days. This snow has buried a variety of surfaces, most notably weak surface hoar, and a sun crust on sunny slopes.

The snow surface is wind-affected in many open areas in the alpine and treeline.

A couple of other weak surface hoar layers are buried 30 to 50 cm. These layers have recently only been reactive where wind-blown snow has formed a cohesive slab overtop.

A crust/facet/surface hoar layer from early December may be found 90 to 160 cm deep. Avalanche activity on this layer has tapered in recent weeks.

Check out this great MIN that describes the snowpack near London Ridge, or this one describing conditions near the Kaslo-New Denver Pass.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Partly cloudy. 15 to 25 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 10 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Monday

Sunny. 25 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C, inversion.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
  • Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

Problems

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.