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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 23rd, 2025–Jan 24th, 2025

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Northwest Inland, Boundary, Stewart, Kispiox, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw.

Recent snow needs time to settle and stabilize. And a buried weak layer continues to produce large, destructive avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Large avalanches failing on the early December weak layers continue to be reported, although the frequency of these reports has decreased since late last week. Most recently, a natural and an explosive-triggered size 3 avalanche were observed on Tuesday, both around treeline elevations.

In addition, repeated large avalanches (size 2 and greater), including remote triggers, have been observed over the past week, underscoring the ongoing instability of this layer.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 50 cm of new snow has accumulated since the weekend, with lower amounts in inland areas. Significant southwest winds have redistributed this new snow into deeper deposits in leeward terrain. A layer of weak surface hoar crystals may persist beneath the new snow, particularly on wind-sheltered slopes.

Deeper in the snowpack, approximately 100 to 200 cm below the surface, layers of crusts, faceted crystals, and/or surface hoar buried in early December remain a concern. These layers have been responsible for several large avalanches over the past week.

The lower snowpack is generally well-settled with no current concerns.

Weather Summary

Thursday night

Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Friday

Partly cloudy. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Saturday

Sunny. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.
  • Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.

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.

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.