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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 7th, 2026–Jan 8th, 2026

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

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Watch for poorly bonded wind slabs on steep alpine features.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.

Avalanche Summary

The AvCan field team observed small natural wind slab avalanches on Mount Arrowsmith during the peak of Tuesday’s storm. Observations from the Prince of Wales Range on Wednesday suggest these slabs were becoming better bonded.

Looking ahead, wind slabs should continue to stabilize but may still be possible to trigger on some steep alpine features.

Snowpack Summary

Heavily wind-affected snow from Tuesday should be settling quickly, though some deeper deposits at high elevations may remain unstable. In sheltered areas, 30 to 40 cm of recent snow sits on a thick rain crust that formed over the weekend. The mid and lower snowpack are well settled and dense, with treeline depths averaging 100 to 150 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Friday

Cloudy. 10 to 15 mm of precipitation starting as snow and switching to rain as freezing level climbs from 1000 to 1500 m throughout the day. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy. 10 to 30 mm of rain, some wet alpine snow possible. 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1400 to 1800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to isolated wind affected features in the alpine, as well as cross-loaded features at treeline.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

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.