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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 13th, 2026–Jan 14th, 2026

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus.

Cornices are large and looming, human triggering is possible.

Keep well back from the edge while riding or walking along ridge lines.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how the snowpack will react to the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

During the storm a widespread storm slab, wet slab, and wet loose avalanche cycle up to size 3 was reported.

Cornices are reported to be over-hanging and fragile. A Cornice triggered wet slab was reported occurring during the storm on Tuesday evening.

Snowpack Summary

A significant rain and warming event has saturated the upper snowpack to ridge-top.

Clear overnight skies and dropping freezing levels have likely started to form a surface crust. Below this the snowpack remains moist.

The mid-December crust is 100 to 200 cm deep and reaches up to 2200 m. It's well-bonded to the snow above. Above 2200 m, a layer of facets and a crust from November is at the base of the snowpack. These layers are not currently a concern.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Mostly clear skies. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 mm of rain at treeline. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.

Thursday
Sunny. 10 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2800 m.

Friday
Sunny. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 7 °C. Freezing level 3400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.