Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Jan 28th, 2025 4:00PM
The alpine rating is , the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems include Storm Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
Avalanche Canada,
Avalanche Canada
Avoid all avalanche terrain.
A deeply buried weak layer may cause large avalanches to run to valley bottom.
Summary
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
On Monday, there were a few small (size 1) rider-triggered wind slab avalanches that failed on buried surface hoar.
On Sunday, there were a few large to very large (size 2 to 3) persistent slab avalanches that failed during the warm weather on southeast and northeast aspects.
Snowpack Summary
20 to 50 cm of snow is expected to fall by the end of the day Tuesday. This snow comes with southwest wind which will drop more snow into lee areas.
A layer of surface hoar is buried about 50 to 90 cm deep. This layer has been seen on all aspects at all elevations.
Around 130 to 250 cm deep are buried weak layers from December. Consisting of crusts, facets, and/or surface hoar. These layers continue to produce large avalanches.
The lower snowpack is strong, with no layers of concern.
Weather Summary
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with 20 to 35 cm of snow. 30 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Thursday
Clear skies. Calm wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Friday
A mix of sun and cloud. 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy snowfall.
- As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
- Very large and destructive avalanches could reach valley bottom.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Heavy snowfall and wind will make dangerous avalanche conditions. Storm slabs may step-down to buried weak layers.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
The weak layer from early December is of greatest concern in areas with shallow, thin-to-thick snowpacks and on wind-loaded north or east-facing slopes.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Jan 29th, 2025 4:00PM
