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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 16th, 2026–Jan 17th, 2026

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Northwest Inland, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Microwave-Sinclair.

Expect increasing avalanche danger in the afternoon especially on steep south facing terrain in the alpine.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Uncertainty is due to how quickly the snowpack will recover and gain strength.
  • Uncertainty is due to rapidly fluctuating freezing levels.
  • The number, quality, or consistency of field observations is good, and supports our confidence.

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday, explosive testing near the Shames area, produced persistent slab avalanches up to size three. All other operators reported activity easing with cooler temperatures and observations of large avalanches 24 to 48 hrs, ( size 2 to size 4).

On Wednesday, a widespread natural avalanche cycle was reported by numerous operations, throughout all elevations and aspects as snowfall, rainfall and warming persisted.

Snowpack Summary

Cooling temperatures, have reconsolidated previous moist and wet surface snow, with widespread reports of a developing surface melt freeze crust. This new crust is at the surface in terrain exposed to the wind, with small wind slabs forming on lee aspect terrain.

At treeline, a very warm and wet surface snow has now become a melt freeze crust. Expect this crust to be supportive to ski and foot weight but possible for a snowmobile to penetrate it.

A layer of large surface hoar is buried 90 to 150 cm in sheltered treeline features. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled with no current layers of concern. Treeline snow depths throughout the region range from 250 cm to 450 cm.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3200 m.

Saturday
Sunny. 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 6 °C. Freezing level 3100 m.

Sunday
Sunny. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 3200 m.

Monday
Sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 3300 m.




More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
  • Avoid exposure to overhead avalanche terrain; avalanches may run surprisingly far.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.