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

Dec 31st, 2023–Jan 1st, 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

Northwest Inland, Howson, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

There is still uncertainty with the reactivity of a persistent slab. Back off if you encounter to signs of instability like whumpfing.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanche activity has been reported in the past few days.

Whumpfing has been experienced by backcountry users in the Babines, Grizzly Plateau, and Hudson Bay Mountain recently. The whumpfing is likely due to the surface hoar layers described in the snowpack summary.

Snowpack Summary

Light amounts of recent new snow has been redistributed by primarily southerly winds. Southerly faces in the alpine are scoured down to the ground or an early-season crust. In most areas, two or more preserved surface hoar layers can be found buried between 35 cm and 80 cm deep. They appear to be most prominent at treeline and below but have been observed in some alpine locations as well.Snowpack depths at treeline are variable across the region with generally deeper amounts (~150cm) in the western part and shallower (~80cm) in the eastern part.The snow surface is likely moist or crusty up to treeline. Below 1100 m there is very little snow.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy with isolated flurries, southwest wind 10-25 km/h, high of -6 °C at treeline.

Monday

Mainly cloudy with sunny breaks and some isolated flurries, southeast and southwest wind 20-40 km/h, high of -5 °C at treeline.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy with 1-4 cm of snow, southwest wind 30-50 km/h, high of -4 °C at treeline.

Wednesday

Mix of sun and cloud, west wind 20-30 km/h, high of -3 °C at treeline.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

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.