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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 17th, 2026–Jan 18th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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 Coastal, Northwest Inland, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson.

As the surface crust breaks down the likelihood of triggering an avalanche will increase.

It is uncertain how the continued warmth will affect the snowpack so watch for signs of instability.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.
  • Uncertainty is due to rapidly fluctuating freezing levels.

Avalanche Summary

January 15

  • Large (up to size 3) explosive triggered persistent slab avalanches were reported near Shames.

  • Other operations in the region reported avalanche activity decreasing with cooler temperatures.

January 14

  • A widespread natural avalanche cycle (up to size 4) was reported throughout all elevations and aspects caused by the snowfall, rainfall and warming of the atmospheric river.

Snowpack Summary

On the surface there is a crust. In terrain exposed to the wind, small wind slabs are forming on lee aspect terrain.

At treeline, very warm and wet surface snow has now become a melt freeze crust. Expect this crust to be supportive to ski and foot weight but may start to break down as the warm air lingers.

A layer of large surface hoar is buried 90 to 150 cm in sheltered treeline features. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled with no current layers of concern. Treeline snow depths throughout the region range from 250 cm to 450 cm.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Clear skies. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3200 m.

Sunday
Sunny. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3300 m.

Monday
Sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 3200 m.

Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.

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.

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.