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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 3rd, 2024–Jan 4th, 2024

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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Northwest Inland, Howson, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Watch for whumpfing and wind-loading. You can use conservative terrain choices if you observe these signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few size 1 loose dry avalanches have been reported in extreme terrain. Otherwise, there have been no new avalanches reported.

Whumpfing has been experienced by backcountry users in the Babines, Grizzly Plateau, and Hudson Bay Mountain recently. The whumpfing is likely due to the surface hoar layers described in the snowpack summary.

Snowpack Summary

Check out this great MIN from the north of the region.

Up to 25 cm of soft snow exists in sheltered areas. Wind-exposed areas carry a variety of surfaces including wind-stiffened snow, an early-season crust, or completely scoured with the ground visible.

Below treeline, a crust exists at or near the surface.

In most areas, two or more preserved surface hoar layers can be found buried between 35 cm and 80 cm deep. They appear to be most prominent at treeline and below but have been observed in some alpine locations as well.

Snowpack depths at treeline are variable across the region with generally deeper amounts (~150cm) in the western part and shallower (~80cm) in the eastern part.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of new snow, south alpine winds 25 to 45 km/h, treeline temperature -5°C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy with a trace of new snow possible, southwest alpine winds 35 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -4°C.

Friday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow expected, southwest alpine winds 30 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -4°C.

Saturday

Partly cloudy with a trace of new snow possible, northwest alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -8°C.

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.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.

Problems

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.

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.