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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2023–Jan 5th, 2023

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

Be careful in steep alpine terrain where wind slab avalanches could be triggered.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, our field team observed a few large (size 2) natural wind slabs avalanches in north and east facing alpine gullies. These likely occurred during the last weekend's storm.

Snowpack Summary

Observations from Wednesday suggest 30 to 40 cm of low density snow can still be found in wind sheltered terrain, while exposed alpine terrain has been impacted by southerly winds. Recent snow is well bonded to underlying layers, with the possible exception of steep wind-loaded slopes. Snow depths at White Pass are around 100 cm in sheltered areas and closer to 200 cm on wind-loaded slopes.

Weather Summary

Wednesday night

Partly cloudy with some isolated flurries bringing trace amounts of snow, 30 km/h wind from the southeast, treeline temperatures drop to -10 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and cloud, no precipitation, 20 km/h wind from the southeast, treeline temperatures around -10 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with light flurries bringing trace amounts of snow in the afternoon, 30 to 40 km/h wind from the southeast, treeline temperatures around -8 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with periods of snow bringing 5 to 10 cm of snow, 50 to 70 km/h wind from the south, treeline temperatures around -5 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.

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.