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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 19th, 2023–Jan 20th, 2023

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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Coast, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sky Pilot, Tetrahedron.

It's a great time to get out! At high elevations where the snow is deep and dry watch for isolated pockets of unstable snow. Use caution around terrain traps where even a small slide may have outsized consequences.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday there were a few size 1 avalanches triggered by explosives in the storm snow with impressively wide propagation.

Thanks for the observations and please continue to post your reports and photos to the Mountain Information Network. It is really helpful for forecasters!

Snowpack Summary

At treeline and above any new snow is dry and powdery and the slightly older snow is settling and bonding. Near the peaks much as 100 cm fell this week, but time and warm temps reduced it to half that. Storm snow amounts lessen and becomes a frozen crust at lower elevations, disappearing around 500 to 700 m.

This week's snow covers a rain runnelled crust. Last week's 'pineapple' rain storm saturated the snowpack at all elevations and pretty much removed all layering.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night: Cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries. Precipitation: Trace. Alpine temperature: Low -3 °C. Ridge wind southwest: 10-25 km/h. Freezing level: 600 metres.

Friday: Cloudy with sunny periods. Precipitation: Nil. Alpine temperature: High 0 °C. Ridge wind light to 20 km/h. Freezing level: 700 metres.

Saturday

Periods of snow. Accumulation: 10 to 20 cm. Alpine temperature: Low -2 °C, High 0 °C. Ridge wind west: 35-50 km/h. Freezing level: 500 to 1000 metres.

Sunday

Sunny. Precipitation: Nil. Alpine temperature: Low -4 °C, High -2 °C. Ridge wind northwest: 10-30 km/h. Freezing level: 600 metres.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.