Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 2nd, 2025 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Persistent Slabs and Wind Slabs.
Avalanche Canada,
Avalanche Canada
Adopt a cautious approach.
A problematic weak layer is surprising riders and producing large avalanches.
Remote triggering is a concern, avoid exposure to steep overhead slopes.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
Over the last week, large to very large (size 2-4) natural and human-triggered persistent slab avalanches have been reported. These avalanches have exhibited unexpectedly wide propagation, with some remote triggers occurring from distances of up to a kilometer away.
Notably, on the 28th this sobering near miss surprised riders, and this MIN describes skiers triggering large avalanches from valley bottom.
On Wednesday small avalanches were reported near Shames
Snowpack Summary
The alpine has seen extensive recent wind-affect. Recent strong winds have varied in direction, building slabs on many aspects.
Soft snow still exists in sheltered terrain and in the trees.
The primary layer of concern is a persistent weak layer of surface hoar and facets overlying a crust. It lies 50 to 100 cm deep in the southern parts of the region and up to 200 cm deep in some areas north of Stewart. This layer has been the cause of several recent large avalanches with wide propagation. Looking forward, we expect this layer to remain a concern for many days, or even weeks.
The remainder of the snowpack is well settled, with no current layers of concern. Treeline snow depths are around 160 cm.
Weather Summary
Thursday night
Cloudy. 30 to 50 km/h variable ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 25 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Saturday
Mostly sunny. 15 to 30 km/h eastridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
- Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.
- Use conservative route selection and resist venturing into complex terrain.
- If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Recent large avalanches have failed on weak grains over a buried crust. This weak layer has shown wide propagation across large terrain features.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Wind Slabs
Recent winds have varied in direction. Watch for slabs on all aspects and use caution as you enter wind-affected terrain.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 3rd, 2025 4:00PM
