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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 16th, 2023–Jan 17th, 2023

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

Regions

Microwave-Sinclair, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Start on small features and gain confidence before moving into bigger terrain. The recent snow is mostly loose, but if a slab is present, it could easily avalanche on a layer of weak, feathery, surface hoar crystals.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported before 4pm on Monday.

On Saturday, several size 2 avalanches were reported at Hankin, Ashman, and in the Babines. These avalanches were easily triggered by the weight of a rider, and they propagated across whole terrain features. They were sliding on a layer of weak, feathery surface hoar crystals, 20cm below the snow surface.

Snowpack Summary

20-30 cm of generally soft snow sits above a layer of surface hoar crystals in sheltered areas. If wind or warmish temperatures have formed any of this snow into a slab, expect it to avalanche under the weight of a rider. See the avalanche summary for recent reports of avalanches on this layer.

A weak layer of facets that formed during the arctic outbreak in December is buried 30 to 60 cm deep. Observations suggest it is fairly widespread, but rounding and gaining strength, and is not reactive to triggering under the current conditions.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Light southwest wind. Alpine temperature around -7°C.

Tuesday

Cloudy. 2-5 cm of snow expected. Alpine wind increasing to moderate south through the day. Alpine temperature around -5°C. Snow possible to valley bottom.

Wednesday

Cloudy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon. No new snow expected. Strong southwest alpine wind. Alpine temperature falling to around -10ºC.

Thursday

Mostly cloudy. Possible trace of snow expected. Strong southwest alpine wind. Alpine temperature rising to around -5ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or 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.