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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 4th, 2024–Jan 5th, 2024

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

Northwest Inland, Howson, Kispiox, Microwave-Sinclair, North Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, South Bulkley, Telkwa.

Continue to assess for signs of instability. Back off if you observe concerning evidence, such as avalanches, whumpfs, or shooting cracks.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

We didn't receive any reports of avalanche activity for Wednesday.

We've received notes on backcountry users experiencing whumpfs in the Babines, Grizzly Plateau, and around Hudson Bay Mountain. We suspect the whumpfing is from the failure of surface hoar layers that are described in the Snowpack Summary. Such observations suggest that humans could trigger avalanches where these layers remain intact.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 25 cm of soft snow exists in areas sheltered from the wind. The snow surface in wind-exposed terrain includes wind-stiffened snow or scoured surfaces including a hard melt-freeze crust or the ground. A small amount of new snow over a hard crust is found below treeline.

Two or more preserved surface hoar layers can be found buried between 35 cm and 80 cm deep in most parts of the region. These layers are most prominent at treeline and below treeline elevations above 1200 m, but they've also been observed in some alpine locations.

Snowpack depths at treeline vary across the region with generally deeper amounts (~150 cm) in the west and shallower (~80 cm) in the east.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Cloudy with 1 to 3 cm snow, south alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -7 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 2 to 5 cm snow, south alpine wind 20 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.

Saturday

Mostly cloudy with trace snow, northwest alpine wind 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday

Mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation, northwest alpine wind 10 km/h, treeline temperature -10 ºC.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach steep open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
  • Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.

Problems

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.

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.