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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 20th, 2024–Jan 21st, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Clearwater, Jordan, Shuswap, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Be cautious as you transition into areas where the surface snow has slab properties.

Wind slabs remain reactive to human triggering.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, explosive avalanche control generally produced size 1 to 2 wind slabs, with one step down avalanche that was size 2.5 on a north aspect at treeline.

Multiple human triggered wind slabs in the alpine and treeline in variably wind affected terrain were reported on both Thursday and Friday. Many of these avalanches have been on west aspects.

Snowpack Summary

30 to 50 cm of recent snow from the last two storms has buried a variety of snow surfaces. It sits above unconsolidated faceted snow, surface hoar and firm wind-pressed snow in open terrain at treeline and above.

Down 60 to 80 cm, a crust, facet and or surface hoar layer exists. This may become a problem once the snow above starts to stiffen and form a slab.

130+ cm down another surface hoar layer exists that was buried in early December. This layer is of most concern above 2000 m where a robust crust doesn't exist above it.

Weak basal facets are likely to be found on the ground in shallow snowpack areas.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Cloudy with up to 3 cm of snow, alpine wind south 20-40 km/h, treeline temperature -5 C.

Sunday

Cloudy with up to 3 cm of snow, alpine wind south 10-30 km/h, treeline temperature -2 C.

Monday

Cloudy with up to 2 cm of snow, alpine wind south 10-30 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow, alpine wind south 10-30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • If triggered, wind slabs avalanches may step down to deeper layers resulting in larger avalanches.

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.

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.