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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 28th, 2025–Jan 29th, 2025

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 and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

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

Riding conditions will be best once the surface crust has softened on sun-affected slopes.

Remain cautious around cornices and on sunny slopes during the warmest parts of the day.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

A few cornices up to size 1.5 were triggered with explosives near Whistler on Monday and Tuesday. Several naturally-triggered cornices and loose wet avalanches were also reported. They were small to large (size 1.5 to 2) and initiated on steep sun-affected alpine slopes. We expect this activity to continue while temperatures remain warm and there is strong sunshine.

If you are headed into the backcountry please consider submitting a MIN report!

Snowpack Summary

Strong sunshine and warm temperatures have formed a crust on most surfaces, except on north-facing alpine slopes where the snow may remain loose and dry. Small pockets of wind slab could still linger in those cooler high alpine zones. With daytime warming, the crust will likely soften and melt, improving riding conditions that have been reported as challenging in some areas. However, loose wet avalanches and cornice failures may also become possible during this time. The mid and lower snowpack is dense, well-settled, and currently shows nothing concerning.

Check out this MIN from the Spearhead.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear skies. 15 to 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing levels 3300 m falling to 2100 m.

Wednesday

Sunny. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -2 °C. Freezing levels 600 m rising to 1200 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow. 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -6 °C. Freezing level 700 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 15 to 35 cm of snow. 50 to 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 700 m rising to 1400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
  • Travel early on sun-exposed slopes before cornices weaken with daytime warming.
  • Cornices often break further back than expected; give them a wide berth when traveling on ridgetops.

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.