Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 28th, 2024–Jan 29th, 2024

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Freezing levels climb to mountain tops today with steady rain.Avalanches could occur on old instabilities buried deep in the snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, a very large (size 3) avalanche was reported on Joffre shoulder in the Duffey lake area. With rising freezing levels and continued rain, it is likely that more of these avalanches will occur.

If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

Up to 30 cm of recent storm snow is becoming moist and rain soaked below 2500 m. This snow rests over a crust on all aspects below 1800 m.

The mid and lower snowpack consists of various crusts and layers of facets or surface hoar. It seems these layers may be coming reactive again with the warming and increased load from rain.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mainly cloudy, 5 to 10 mm of mixed precipitation. South alpine wind, 20 to 50 km/h. Freezing level rising to 2500 m.

Monday

Mainly cloudy, average of 15 mm, with the possibility of up to 35 mm of rain during the day. Up to an additional 10 mm overnight. South alpine wind, 30 to 50 km/h. Freezing level 2500 m.

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, trace of rain. Southwest alpine wind, 20 to 40 km/h. Freezing level falling to 2000 m.

Wednesday

Mainly cloudy, up to 5 mm of rain. Southeast alpine wind, 15 to 40 km/h. Freezing level 2200 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.
Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
Avoid areas with overhead hazard.

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.

Wet Slabs

Wet Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) that is generally moist or wet when the flow of liquid water weakens the bond between the slab and the surface below (snow or ground). They often occur during prolonged warming events and/or rain-on-snow events. Wet Slabs can be very unpredictable and destructive.

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.