Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 7th, 2026–Jan 8th, 2026

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 possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
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, Sky Pilot.

A spotty surface hoar layer exists, so investigate how the recent storm snow is bonding to underlying layers.

Test small features before committing to big terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Recent weather patterns have resulted in a high degree of snowpack variability within the region.

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, there were a few small slabs triggered with explosives near Whistler.

On Tuesday, there were several large (size 2) storm slabs triggered with explosives near Whistler. As well as several, small dry loose avalanches from steep terrain.

On Monday, storm slabs were numerous and large around Whistler (size 2-3). On all aspects in the alpine.

Snowpack Summary

Another 8 to 15 cm of new snow fell with moderate to strong wind. In some areas, there is a layer of surface hoar underneath that was buried on Monday.

Underneath the approximately 50 cm of snow that fell this year there is a crust on south-facing slopes, wind-affected snow on north-facing, above 2100 m; and surface hoar in isolated, sheltered features.

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

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Up to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Thursday
Cloudy. Up to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Friday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas with overhead hazard.
  • Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.

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.