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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 17th, 2024–Jan 18th, 2024

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot.

Continue to assess how new snow is bonding to underlying surfaces.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Reports suggest a natural avalanche cycle occurred Wednesday morning, with storm slab and loose dry avalanches occurring up to size 2.

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

Snowpack Summary

Approximately 10 to 20 cm of low-density new snow has buried a variety of old wind-affected surfaces in exposed terrain treeline and above.

In sheltered terrain, the new snow has buried faceted snow, with the possibility of isolated pockets of surface hoar, primarily around treeline elevations.

The mid and lower snowpack consists of various old crusts and is generally well-settled and well-bonded.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear with no precipitation, northwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -10 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy with no precipitation, south alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.

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.