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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 13th, 2025–Jan 14th, 2025

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

Regions

Northwest Inland, Howson, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

The best riding will be found in sheltered terrain above 1300 m, where snow isn't wind-affected or crusty.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday a wind slab was observed near Hudson Bay mountain. Click photo below for details.

Friday, several wind slabs sized 1 to 2 were observed across the region.

Wednesday, a few wind slab avalanches size 1.5 to 2 were reported on east aspects in the alpine. Some were cornice-triggered, and one was noted to have stepped down the persistent weak layer.

Natural avalanche activity has likely subsided, but we expect human-triggering to remain possible.

Snowpack Summary

Several days of strong to extreme westerly through northwesterly winds have scoured snow on windward faces and built thick wind slabs on lee slopes. These slabs are slowly bonding.

The snow surface on south-facing slopes and areas below 1200–1300 m is expected to be crusty.

A persistent weak layer composed of facets overlying a crust is buried 40 to 80 cm deep. A couple of recent wind slabs have stepped down to this layer. It has been stubborn to unreactive in recent snowpack tests, but may remain possible to trigger in isolated areas.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 50 to 70 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 80 to 90 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.

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.