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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 5th, 2025–Jan 6th, 2025

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

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Increasing winds and flurries starting Monday afternoon - watch for fresh slabs building at the end of the day.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

The most recent avalanche reports are from last Wednesday (MIN reported whumping and shooting cracks) and Tuesday (size 2 avalanche on a north aspect at 1300 m, 20-30 cm deep and failing on facets above a crust - see photo below)

Reports have been limited (it's also been really cold). If you head out in the mountains, please share your observations on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Recent outflow winds have scoured windward faces in the alpine and loaded lee slopes. Up to 20 cm of soft snow can be found in sheltered areas.

The primary layer of concern is weak facets and in some cases surface hoar, overlying a crust. The interface is now buried 20 to 30 cm deep and extends up to 1750 m.

Despite the presence of faceted grains in the lower snowpack, there are no current layers of concern below the crust. 

Snowpack depths range from about 70 to 180 cm.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Cloudy with isolated flurries, trace to 5 cm. 30, gusting to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16°C.

Monday

Cloudy with flurries starting late in the day, up to 10 cm. 40 to 80 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10°C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 10 to 30 cm. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4°C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with isolated flurries, 5 cm. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Keep in mind a buried crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.