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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 28th, 2025–Jan 29th, 2025

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

Regions

South Coast, Powell River, North Shore, Sasquatch, Sasquatch, Tetrahedron.

Periods of low hazard are the best time to consider exploring more complex terrain.

Riding conditions will improve once the surface crust has softened on sun-affected slopes.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

Small loose wet avalanches and pinwheeling have been observed from steep, sun-affected slopes. With the current weather forecast, we expect small loose wet avalanches will remain possible to trigger on Wednesday.

If you are headed into the backcountry please consider submitting a MIN report.

Snowpack Summary

Strong sunshine and warm temperatures have formed a crust on most surfaces, except on north-facing alpine slopes where the snow may remain loose and dry. With daytime warming, the crust will likely soften and melt, improving riding conditions that have been reported as challenging in some areas. However, loose wet avalanches may also become possible during this time. The mid and lower snowpack is dense, well-settled, and currently shows nothing concerning.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear skies. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 3400 m dropping to 2500 m.

Wednesday

Sunny. 30 to 40 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2500 m dropping to 1200 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around -5 °C. Freezing levels remain around 500 m.

Friday

Cloudy with 30 to 50 cm of snow. 60 to 70 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 600m rising to 1400m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
  • 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.
  • Travel early on sun-exposed slopes before cornices weaken with daytime warming.

Problems

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.