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 24th, 2024–Dec 25th, 2024

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

Regions

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Not all wind slab problems are created equal. Recent touchy, remote triggering demands careful terrain analysis and selection. Seek out sheltered snow to stack the odds in your favour.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Skiers remote-triggered a large wind slab from 100 m away in the Little Simpson area on Hudson Bay Mountain on Monday. It failed on faceted snow and is a concerning example of the snowpack's current potential.

Up north, a 20 - 40 cm deep layer of surface hoar on the early-December crust was reactive to skiers in the Ningunsaw area recently and produced a large natural avalanche in the same area on Monday.

Please share your observations on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Light new snow amounts have been adding to heavily wind affected surfaces in the alpine and at treeline. By end of day on the 25th, we should see another 5 - 10 cm.

The crust from early December is now buried 20 to 40 cm. In some areas, large surface hoar crystals are found at this interface. We are trying to track the distribution of this surface hoar across the region. Faceted snow is perhaps more likely to find at this interface and poses a similar problem.

Check out this helpful MIN report.

Weather Summary

Tuesday night

Cloudy with scattered flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1000 m.

Wednesday

Cloudy with flurries bringing around 5 cm of new snow in the afternoon. 30 to 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature approaching -1 °C with freezing level reaching 1300 m by end of day.

Thursday

A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

Friday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded features, especially near ridge crests, rollovers, and in steep terrain.
  • Seek out wind sheltered terrain below treeline where you can avoid wind slabs and find great riding.
  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.

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.