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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 5th, 2023–Jan 6th, 2023

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

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Continue to play it conservative. This region has a shallow, weak snowpack. Even small avalanches could step down to deeper layers resulting in large destructive avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches reported in the last few days in the region.

Please continue to post your observations and photos to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

Ongoing southerly winds have scoured south facing terrain in the alpine and formed wind slab in specific north facing features. A new layer of surface hoar exists at or near the surface. 20 to 40cm of recent snow sits over a crust formed near the end of December. This crust gets thinner and less supportive as you gain elevation. Moist snow will likely be observed at lower elevations.

In the mid-snowpack, a weak layer of surface hoar from early December has been observed down 80 to 100 cm. This layer is most prevalent in shaded and sheltered areas.

The lower snowpack consists of weak facets and depth hoar. This basal weakness remains a concern.

Snowpack depths remain highly variable, roughly 50 to 200 cm at treeline.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5cm of new snow. Strong to extreme south winds and freezing levels falling to 1200m by early morning.

Friday

Cloudy with flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow. Strong southerly winds and freezing level rising to 1500m.

Saturday

Cloudy with light flurreis bringing trace amounts of new snow. Strong south winds easing to light by the afternoon and freezing level rising to 1600m.

Sunday

Cloudy with light flurries bringing trace amounts of new snow. Strong south winds and freezing levels rising to 1600m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rock outcroppings and steep convex terrain where triggering is most likely.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present and have produced recent large avalanches.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.

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.

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.