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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 9th, 2025–Jan 10th, 2025

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

Regions

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

A buried weak layer could create surprisingly large and reactive avalanches.

Take a cautious approach and practice good travel habits.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, natural (some cornice-triggered) and skier-triggered wind slabs were observed from alpine and treeline terrain up to size 1.5. Notably, some slabs had surprisingly wide propagation in lower-angled terrain due to a weak layer of surface hoar they were failing on. (read more here).

Keep your guard up on Firday as similar activity can be expected with new snow and wind form fresh slabs.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15 cm of new snow overlies a sun crust on steep south-facing slopes, large surface hoar in sheltered areas, and wind-affected surfaces in exposed areas.

A second crust is buried 60 to 100 cm deep and may have a layer of surface hoar sitting above it. Recent tests show this layer as unreactive.

The remainder of the mid and lower snowpack is well-settled.

Snow depths at treeline are roughly 100 to 150 cm.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of new snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level drops to 1000 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 15 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday

Mostly sunny with valley cloud. 15 to 40 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.

Problems

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.