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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 12th, 2025–Jan 13th, 2025

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

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Avoid steep, rocky, wind-affected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Minimize exposure to overhead hazards when solar radiation is strong.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, a size 1 skier-triggered wind slab avalanche was reported on a treeline feature on Zoa Peak.

The most notable activity in the past week has been large glide slab avalanches. Glide slabs are hard to forecast. If you see a glide crack, simply avoid being under it.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 15 cm of snow overlies a thin surface crust everywhere except northerly slopes in the alpine.

A substantial crust up to 30 cm thick sits 50 to 90 cm deep, well-bonded to surrounding snow. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well consolidated.

Treeline snow depths range from roughly 150 to 220 cm around the Coquihalla and 100 to 150 cm around Manning Park.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mainly clear skies. 15 to 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. An above freezing layer develops between 1700 and 2700 m.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. An above freezing layer persists between 1400 and 2700 m.

Wednesday

Mainly sunny. 25 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +4 °C. Freezing level 2700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Rocks will heat up with daytime warming and may become trigger points for loose wet avalanches.
  • Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.