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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2025–Feb 1st, 2025

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

Regions

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

Fresh snow sits over unusually unstable surfaces, creating dangerous avalanche conditions. Stick to simple terrain and avoid overhead hazard.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, natural and skier-triggered storm slabs up to size 1.5 were reported on west to northeast aspects near treeline. A widespread natural cycle is likely but observations have been limited during the storm.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 50 cm of new snow has accumulated since Thursday night. Near ridgetops, southwest wind has loaded new snow into leeward terrain features. The new snow is not expected to bond well to underlying surfaces including a hard crust in most areas, or facets and/or surface hoar on high north aspects.

The mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and dense with no layers of concern.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Cloudy with 3 to 8 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures dropping from -1 to -8 °C. Freezing level dropping 1000 m to valley bottom.

Saturday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -8 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Don't let the desire for deep powder pull you into high consequence terrain.
  • Use conservative route selection. Choose simple, low angle terrain with no overhead hazard.
  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the crust.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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 Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.