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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 12th, 2024–Jan 13th, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Jordan, Shuswap, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Whatshan.

Cold temperatures and the possibility of large avalanches are good reasons to dial back terrain choices and stick to simple objectives if you do plan to go out.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A natural avalanche cycle up to size 2.5 was reported Wednesday continuing into Thursday, including remotely triggered avalanches to size 2. Most storm slab avalanches ran on surface hoar buried on Jan 4. A few size 1-2 wind slabs 30-60 cm deep were triggered by rider traffic, these occurred on north-to-east aspects above 2200 m.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 40-60 cm of new snow fell in the region early this week. It buried a mix of crusts, surface hoar, and facets. Areas where surface hoar may be preserved are of greatest concern.

A crust formed by early December rain is found ~70 cm deep, and an old layer of surface hoar 60-100 cm deep. Recent observations suggest triggering this layer is unlikely. The lower snowpack is variable throughout the region and weak basal facets are likely to be found on the ground in shallow snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Clear. North alpine wind 10-40 km/h. Treeline temperature -30 °C.

Saturday

Sunny. Variable alpine wind, gusting to 30 km/h at ridgetop. Treeline temperature -26 °C.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. Northwest alpine wind 20-50 km/h. Treeline temperature -22 °C.

Monday

Sunny. Variable, Variable alpine wind 30-60 km/h. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.

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.