Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 9th, 2026–Jan 10th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot.

Storm slabs will become more dangerous and reactive as the new snow piles up.

Choose conservative terrain and avoid wind loaded areas.

Confidence

High

  • We are confident the likelihood of avalanche will increase with the arrival of the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, near Sky Pilot there was a large (size 2) remotely triggered wind slab from an east facing slope, report here. There were also several small skier-controlled wind slabs in other parts of the forecast area.

On Wednesday, there were a few small slabs triggered with explosives near Whistler.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 40 cm of storm snow is expected by the end of day on Saturday.

This falls on old snow that has been affected by strong to extreme wind. In some sheltered areas, there is a layer of surface hoar underneath that was buried on Monday. It may become more reactive with new load.

The mid-December crust is 100 to 200 cm deep and up to around 2200 m. It's well-bonded to the snow above. Above 2200 m, a layer of facets and a crust from November is at the base of the snowpack. These layers are not currently a concern.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. Up to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

Saturday
Cloudy. 25 to 35 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Sunday
Cloudy. 20 to 50 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Monday
Cloudy. 50 to 85 mm of snow, then rain. Freezing level 1800 m. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
  • As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
  • Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.