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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 18th, 2025–Jan 19th, 2025

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

North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Recent wind has varied in direction so watch for reactive wind slabs, especially in the alpine.

The new load may be the tipping point for deeper instabilities and bigger avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Riders near Telkwa were able to trigger a large wind slab avalanche on Friday. Get all the details here. Otherwise, reports have been limited in this region.

Reactive wind slabs may exist on northeast- and southeast-facing slopes. Natural activity may taper but the snowpack could be primed for human-triggered avalanches this weekend.

If you go into the backcountry please consider submitting to the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

By Thursday, there was up to 20 cm of new snow. Strong southwest winds have likely redistributed the storm snow onto leeward slopes, building thicker wind slabs. Northwest winds may have also loaded southerly aspects and have a poor bond in areas (1200–1300 m) where it sits on a crust.

A persistent weak layer composed of facets overlying a crust is buried 50 to 100 cm deep and may be reactive with the new load from snow and wind.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Clear. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Sunday

Mostly clear. 10 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8°C.

Monday

Partly cloudy. 30 gusting to 75 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9.

Tuesday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm. 40 to 50 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.