Avalanche forecast

Kitimat

Jan 20 – 21, 2025Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Wind slabs may remain reactive to riders.

Recent avalanches on the buried weak layer bring uncertainty. Stick to low angle, supported terrain, free from overhead hazard.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

    Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs. Potential remains for slabs to step down to deeper persistent weak layers.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–3.5

    A widespread crust with facets is buried 120-200 cm deep. While this layer exists on all aspects, it's most likely to be triggered by a heavy load on wind-loaded slopes.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity appears to be tapering since the recent storm. On Saturday a naturally triggered size 3 occurred, likely from solar input, on a southwest slope at treeline. This appeared limited to the recent storm snow.

Several size 2 wind slab avalanches on east and southeast slopes in the alpine were reported on Friday.

Size 3 avalanches were observed during the storm, running on the buried weak layer 100-200 cm deep.

Snowpack Summary

Light snowfall will bury a large surface hoar layer on shaded slopes, and a crust on sun affected slopes. Previous storm accumulations of up to 80 cm were wind-affected by west/southwest winds in exposed areas. Settling storm snow can still be found in sheltered areas but tapers rapidly with elevation to a firm melt freeze crust.

50 to 100 cm deep a layer of surface hoar, facets, or a thin crust exists.

A persistent weak layer of surface hoar and facets overlying a crust is buried 120 to 200 cm deep.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Clear skies with increasing cloud. 20 to 30 km/h westerly ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. A small above-freezing layer sits around 1500 m overnight.

Monday

Cloudy. Up to 10 cm of snow possible for coastal areas, 2 cm expected for Shames. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures start the day at -10 °C and rise to -4 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with no snow. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 10 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

Regions covered