Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 17th, 2026–Jan 18th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Yukon, Tutshi, Wheaton, White Pass East, White Pass West.

Rising temperatures will keep the danger elevated.

There is uncertainty around how the continued warmth will affect the snowpack.

Confidence

Moderate

Uncertainty is due to rapidly fluctuating freezing levels.
Uncertainty is due to limitations in the field data.

Avalanche Summary

January 16 & 17

No new avalanches report but observations are limited. Consider posting to the MIN if you are out in the mountains!

January 15

Large natural avalanches (size 3) where reported and may have been a day old.
A small (size 1) persistent slab was remotely triggered near log cabin.

January 14

A large (up to size 3.5) natural avalanche cycle occurred during periods of rapid loading and warming. Breaking mature timber and going through lake ice at Bryant lake.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 40 cm of snow has accumulated over the past week and has been redistributed by extreme southerly wind. The wind scoured south facing slopes and loaded north facing slopes.

At lower elevations a crust is present on or under the recent snow.

A weak layer of facets is buried 70 to 100 cm deep. In shallow snowpack areas, the bottom half of the snowpack is composed of weak depth hoar.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 800 m with an above freezing layer between 1500 m and 2600 m.

Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 900 m with an above freezing layer between 1500 m and 3000 m.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. An above freezing layer between 1500 m and 2400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Stay off recently wind loaded slopes until they have had a chance to stabilize.
If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
The more the snowpack warms up and weakens, the more conservative your terrain selection should be.

Problems

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.

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.