Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 30th, 2022–Dec 31st, 2022

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.

Human triggering of large, destructive avalanches remains possible. Use extra caution in shallow, rocky and wind-affected terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, a large, size 3 avalanche was remotely triggered by skiers roughly 100 m away. The avalanche was on a northeast aspect at 2050 m. It ran on a weak layer (80 to 100 cm deep), before scrubbing down to the ground in steep terrain.

No reports of new avalanches have been made since Wednesday.

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

Snowpack Summary

10 to 30 cm of snow since Monday now sits overtop a melt-freeze crust. The crust is thicker and more supportive at lower elevations (roughly below 2000 m). While the crust is thin and breakable higher. The mid and lower snowpack consists of various weak layers and generally unconsolidated snow.

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

Weather Summary

Friday night

Cloudy with flurries, 2 to 5 cm. Light to moderate southwest winds. -5 C at treeline.

Saturday

Cloudy with flurries, 0 to 2 cm. Light southwest winds. -5 C at treeline.

Sunday

Sun and cloud, no precipitation. Light southwest winds. -5 to -10 C at treeline.

Monday

Sun and cloud, no precipitation. Light southeast winds. -5 to -10 C at treeline.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • 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.
  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rock outcroppings and steep convex terrain where triggering is most 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.

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.