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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 22nd, 2024–Jan 23rd, 2024

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

Blue River, Premier, Clemina, Esplanade, North Monashee, North Selkirk.

More snow and warm temperatures will promote storm slab development.

Be cautious in areas where the surface snow feels heavy and cohesive.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

A natural storm slab cycle was reported on Sunday up to size 2, on all aspects and elevations. All of them failed on a weak layer of facets.

Earlier in the storm on Wednesday, two persistent slab avalanches (size 1 and 2) were remotely triggered by skiers in the Northern Selkirks. These avalanches occurred on north aspects at treeline.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 30 cm of surface snow is now resting on a variety of old snow surfaces including faceted snow, surface hoar and firm wind slabs in open terrain at treeline and above.

Down 60 to 80 cm a crust, facet, and/or surface hoar layer exists.

130+ cm down another surface hoar layer exists that was buried in early December. This seems to be of most concern above 2000 m where a robust crust doesn't exist above it, or in shallow snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 5-10 cm of snow, south alpine wind 10-50 km/h, treeline temperature around -4 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine wind 10-40 km/h, treeline temperature around -2 °C, freezing level 1400 m.

Wednesday

Mix of sun and cloud with up to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine wind 20-40 km/h, treeline temperature around -2 °C, freezing level 1400 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow, southwest alpine wind 10-30 km/h, treeline temperature around -1 °C, freezing level 1400 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • In areas where deep persistent slabs may exist, avoid shallow or variable depth snowpacks and unsupported terrain features.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.

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.

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.