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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 28th, 2024–Jan 29th, 2024

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

Regions

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

Assess for storm slabs and unstable snow before committing to steep or high-consequence terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Sunday: A large (size 2) avalanche was observed in the Hudson Bay Mtn area out of steep east-facing alpine terrain.

Saturday: A small (size 1) skier-triggered avalanche was triggered below treeline, and several large (size 2) naturally-triggered avalanches were observed in the alpine in the mountains northeast of Hazelton.

Friday: There were reports of small (size 1) skier-triggered avalanches on north-facing treeline slopes in the Hankin-Evelyn area.

Snowpack Summary

Except for high alpine elevations where some dry snow may still be found, the upper snowpack is moist or wet due to warm temperatures and rain.

Storm snow amounts over the last week have varied across the region. The current storm slab is 15-30 cm thick and is made up of dense, moist or wet snow. On north and east faces these slabs may be thicker due to recent winds. The storm snow may be poorly bonded to a crust formed in early January that extends up to treeline elevations.

Two deeper surface hoar layers exist. These layers have become dormant and unlikely to trigger.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 2-6 cm of snow / light rain, south alpine wind 60-70 km/h, treeline temperature 6°C, freezing level 2000 m.

Monday

Cloudy with a trace of new snow, south alpine wind 80 km/h, treeline temperature 2°C, freezing level 1700 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 5-15 cm of new snow / light to moderate rain, southwest alpine wind 60-70 km/h, treeline temperature 0°C, freezing level 1300 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 4-12 cm new snow / light to moderate rain, southeast alpine wind 60 km/h, treeline temperature 1°C, freezing level rising to 1500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.
  • Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous 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.

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.