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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 27th, 2023–Jan 28th, 2023

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

Regions

Sea To Sky, Brandywine, Garibaldi, Homathko, Powell River, Spearhead, Tantalus, Sasquatch.

Use extra caution on steep slopes just below the ridgetops where fresh wind slabs are more likely to be found.

Increase your exposure to avalanche terrain gradually as you gather information moving throughout the terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, several natural wet loose avalanches were reported to size 1.5 on steep solar aspects.

On Tuesday, a size 1 skier remote wind slab avalanche was reported in the Whistler area at 1650 m on a north aspect. The bed surface of the avalanche was a crust down 30 cm. Check out the great MIN report for details.

Please continue to share any observations or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

A melt-freeze crust covers 20-40 cm of settling snow on solar slopes in the alpine. On sheltered polar slopes in the alpine, a crust has formed and should break down once the incoming cold weather gets a chance to work on it. Both of these crusts can be found from 2200 m to 1000 m in elevation.

A thick crust from mid-January can be found down 40-70 cm deep. A number of weak layers exist within the mid and lower snowpack but the thick crusts sitting above them make triggering avalanches on these layers unlikely.

The areas of concern in terms of triggering a deeper layer are shallow rocky areas.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

A mix of clouds with periods of clearing and trace amounts of precipitation. Northeast ridgetop winds 20 km/h gusting to 40 km/h. Alpine temperature -8 °C. Freezing levels 500 m.

Saturday 

Sunny and clear. Northeast ridgetop winds 30 km/h. Alpine temperature -15 °C. Freezing level 500 m dropping to 0 m. 

Sunday

Sunny and clear. Northwest ridgetop winds 25 km/h gusting to 60 km/h. Alpine temperature -20 °C. Freezing levels 0 m. 

Monday

Sunny and clear. Northwest ridgetop winds 25 km/h gusting to 40 km/h. Alpine temperature -16 °C. Freezing levels 0 m. 

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
  • A crust on the surface will help bind the snow together, but may make for tough travel conditions.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.

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.