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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 10th, 2024–Jan 11th, 2024

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 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.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Continue to make conservative terrain choices, storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.

Cold exposure is a major concern for backcountry travelers (read more in this blog).

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Low visibility and bad roads have limited observations in the past few days. We expect a widespread natural avalanche cycle will have occurred during the storm on Tuesday.

Take a cautious approach on Thursday. Storm slabs may remain sensitive to human-triggering.

If you head into the backcountry, please consider submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

40 to 60 cm of recent storm snow was accompanied by strong southwest switching to northwest winds, building cohesive slabs in lee features. This overlies 20-50 cm of snow over a crust and a well-settled snowpack in the alpine and upper treeline.

Treeline snowpack depths range from 90 to 180 cm. The last few storms have brought winter to the Cascades, and lower-elevation areas may reach the threshold for avalanches.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with snowfall, 5 to 10 cm of accumulation. Alpine wind northwest 15 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop to -12 C.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with flurries, up to 5 cm of accumulation. Westerly wind 40 to 60 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop to -22 C.

Friday

Mainly sunny with no new snow. Northerly winds 30 to 50 km/h. Treeline temperatures drop to -27 C.

Saturday

Sunny with no new snow. Northerly winds 20 to 40 km/h. Treeline temperatures around -25 C.

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.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.

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.