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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 14th, 2026–Jan 15th, 2026

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus.

Cornice failures are possible as high freezing levels and sunny skies continue.

Give large overhanging cornices a wide berth; they have the potential to trigger slopes below.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how the snowpack will react to the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

Many natural and human-triggered (loose-wet, wet slab and cornice-triggered) avalanches up to size 3.5 have occurred over the last few days. Since then, a crust has formed on the surface, and activity has lessened.

It may seem odd to be thinking about cornices in January, but keep them in mind this week. Natural cornice-triggered wet slabs were reported on Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

A newly formed crust extends up to mountain top on all aspects and elevations. Up to 50 cm of moist snow lies beneath the crust. Below 1700 m, the snowpack is fully saturated.

The mid-December crust is 100 to 200 cm deep and reaches up to 2200 m. It's well-bonded to the snow above. Above 2200 m, a layer of facets and a crust from November is at the base of the snowpack. These layers are not currently a concern.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear skies. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2400 m.

Thursday
Sunny. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Friday
Sunny. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3200 m.

Saturday
Sunny. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 9 °C. Freezing level 3300 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling, and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

Problems

Cornices

Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.

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.