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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 15th, 2020–Jan 16th, 2020

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

Cariboos.

Stay warm, navigate around wind slabs, and be cautious of steep open slopes around treeline.

Confidence

High -

Weather Forecast

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: 5-10 cm of low density snow, strong wind from the south, alpine temperatures around -25 C.

THURSDAY: Cloudy with light flurries, moderate to strong wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -18 C.

FRIDAY: Light flurries with mix of sun and cloud, light wind from the southwest, alpine high temperatures around -15 C.

SATURDAY: Light flurries with up to 5 cm of snow, moderate wind from the south, alpine high temperatures around -12 C.

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity has quieted down over past few days, but incoming weather on Thursday will refresh the wind slab problem. Last weekend there were notable signs of a reactive persistent slab problem including large whumpfs and a large snowmobile triggered avalanche in the neighbouring Clemina area (see the MIN report). The surface hoar layer responsible for this problem has been harder to find since then, but could still potentially produce large avalanches in certain sheltered slopes around treeline and could perhaps re-activate with a sudden change in weather.

Snowpack Summary

Surface conditions are variable due to cold temperatures and shifting wind directions over the past few days. The main concern over the past week has been a layer of surface hoar buried 60-120 cm beneath the surface, but recent observations suggest this layer has trended towards being less reactive under the current conditions.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Approach steep open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, buried surface hoar may exist.

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.

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.