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

Jan 7th, 2024–Jan 8th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sky Pilot, Birkenhead.

Get ready for another winter storm. Avalanche hazard will rise as snow accumulates.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Control work on Saturday produced numerous storm slabs and cornices to size 2. A natural avalanche cycle to size 2.5 with loose snow avalanches to size 1.5 likely tapered early Saturday morning.

A couple of large and suspect (regarding the PWL) avalanches were reported in the Whistler Backcountry and north of Pemberton. A crust deep in the snowpack (80-140 cm down) last produced avalanches Dec 31, and a likely suspect.

Snowpack Summary

Another system of heavy snowfall and wind is forecast to begin Monday.

50-100 cm fresh and recent storm snow covers a crust buried Jan 1. This crust may exist up to mountain tops, and seems to be thick and supportive to the weight of a human south of Whistler, and more variable in thickness and strength to the north, where it thins out above 1900 m.

A crust from early Dec is now down 80-140 cm. A couple of large, suspect avalanches were reported on Jan 6; we will continue to track this layer. Snowpack depths are 120-230 cm around treeline and decrease rapidly below.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with isolated flurries. Light increasing ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with flurries, 10 cm. Southwest ridgetop gusting to strong. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Tuesday

Heavy snow, 20-40 cm. Very strong southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday

Snowfall decreasing, 10 cm. Moderate and decreasing north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for avalanche hazard to increase throughout the day.
  • Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 25cm of new snow.
  • Avoid freshly wind loaded features, especially near ridge crests, roll-overs and in steep terrain.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.