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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 31st, 2023–Feb 1st, 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

Northwest Inland, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, Ningunsaw, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

New snow may not bond well to existing crusts and firm surfaces. Use caution as you transition into places where wind slab may be forming.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A few new small wind slab avalanches have been reported in the region including one size 1 today from our team in the field.

Backcountry users continue to report evidence of a significant avalanche cycle during the recent warm, wet, and windy weather last week. The majority of these avalanches were wind slabs, however, a number of avalanches stepped down to buried persistent layers, creating large, scary avalanches, like this one in the Telkwa area from Friday.

If you are out in the backcountry please consider filling out a Mountain Information Network report.

Snowpack Summary

There is now 15-20cm of settling storm snow over top of crusty surfaces from recent warming on January 25th. Some of this snow has been blown into small wind slabs that can be easily triggered.

The mid and lower snowpack continues to bond and stabilize while a number of buried weak layers remain a concern and have produced a number of large recent avalanches.

Weather Summary

Tuesday night

Cloudy with flurries, 5 cm. Treeline temperatures -5 to -10 C. Moderate southwest alpine winds.

Wednesday

Cloudy with snow, 5 to 10 cm. Treeline temperatures -5 to -10 C. Moderate southwest alpine winds.

Thursday

Cloudy with flurries, 2 to 5 cm. Treeline temperatures -5 to -10 C rising in the afternoon. Strong southwest winds.

Friday

Cloudy with flurries, 2 to 5 cm. Treeline temperatures near 0 C. Winds tapering to light from the south.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
  • Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

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.