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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 27th, 2025–Jan 28th, 2025

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

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

It's a good time to consider stepping out into more complex terrain.

Riding conditions will be best once the surface crust has softened on sun-affected slopes.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday pinwheeling was observed on steep sun-affected slopes. We expect small loose wet avalanches to have occurred from steep, rocky features.

If you are headed into the backcountry please consider submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

Strong sunshine and warm temperatures are expected to break down the surface crust at low elevations and on steep sun-affected slopes into the alpine. Snow on north facing alpine slopes will likely remain loose and dry.

The mid and lower snowpack is dense and well-settled with no current concerns.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Clear skies. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Tuesday

Sunny. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Wednesday

Sunny with afternoon cloud. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level starts at 2500 m and drops over the day.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around -3 °C. Freeing levels remain around 500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • Travel early on sun-exposed slopes before cornices weaken with daytime warming.

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.