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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 13th, 2024–Jan 14th, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Jordan, Shuswap, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Whatshan.

Cold temperatures can make surface instabilities linger longer than usual. Be cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, continued reports of natural and remotely triggered avalanches to size 2.5 in the alpine and treeline . On Wednesday and Thursday an avalanche cycle up to size 2.5 was reported, including remotely triggered avalanches to size 2. Many of the avalanches ran on surface hoar buried on Jan 4. A few size 1-2 wind slabs 30-60 cm deep were triggered by rider traffic, these occurred on east-to-north aspects above 2200 m.

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 40-60 cm of new snow fell in the region early this week. It buried a mix of crusts, surface hoar, and facets. Areas where surface hoar may be preserved are of greatest concern.

A crust formed by early December rain is found ~70 cm deep, and an old layer of surface hoar 60-100 cm deep. Recent observations suggest triggering this layer is unlikely. The lower snowpack is variable throughout the region and weak basal facets are likely to be found on the ground in shallow snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Saturday night

Partly cloudy. Northwest alpine wind, 10-40 km/h. Treeline temperature -28 °C.

Sunday

Partly cloudy with possible flurries. Northwest alpine wind 20-50 km/h. Treeline temperature -22 °C.

Monday

Mostly sunny. Northwest alpine wind 10-50 km/h. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

Tuesday

Mix of sun and cloud with possible flurries. Southwest alpine wind 10-30 km/h. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for areas of hard wind slab on alpine features.
  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.

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.

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.