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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 6th, 2025–Jan 7th, 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

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus.

Wind slabs may still be rider-triggerable in the alpine.

Watch for moist surface snow in sheltered, sunny spots.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few small, wet loose avalanches were reported on south-facing slopes on Sunday.

On Friday and Saturday, numerous natural as well as skier- and explosive-triggered wind slabs were reported size 1-2. Most were in reverse-loaded lees of ridgetop on west to southwest aspects at alpine and treeline elevations.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 15 cm of recent snow sits over faceted old layers. The new snow has seen moderate wind effect at upper elevations. A crust has likely formed on the surface at low elevations and on steep slopes that saw the sun.

An otherwise right-side-up upper snowpack appears to be bonding well to a crust buried 70 to 100 cm deep. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and bonded with no deeper concerns.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly clear skies. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy. 20 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Wednesday

5 cm of snow overnight then clearing. 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1200 overnight, rising to 2500 m in the afternoon.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud, increasing. 35 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +3 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.

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.

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.