Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 8th, 2025–Feb 9th, 2025

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

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, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Cariboos, North Rockies, Blue River, Clearwater, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Sugarbowl, Clemina, North Monashee, McGregor, Renshaw, Robson.

Slab conditions are the main concern right now. Use caution on any snow that feels firm or slabby.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday a few small (size 1) wind slab avalanches where easily skier triggered at or near ridge crests in the alpine.

On Tuesday. wind slabs were observed in alpine terrain on all aspects.

On Monday, riders triggered small storm slab avalanches within the recent storm snow. They were 20 cm deep at treeline on northerly aspects. These add to the many small to large (size 1 to 2) slabs observed last weekend, on all aspects and elevations.

Snowpack Summary

Storm snow from the end of January totaled between 30 to 50 cm and are beginning to slowly facet with surface hoar formation occurring. Past strong winds from various directions had redistributed this snow, but in wind-sheltered terrain it remains soft. This snow overlies various layers that it may not bond well to, including faceted grains, surface hoar crystals in wind-sheltered openings, and a hard melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes.

The middle portion of the snowpack is relatively weak with numerous other layers of faceted grains, surface hoar, and/or crusts that formed over the month of January.

The lower snowpack is well settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Saturday night

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries, and little accumulation of snow. 5 to 15 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline low temperature -17 °C.

Sunday

Sun and cloud. 5 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature -14 °C.

Monday

Sunny. 15 to 25 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.
Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.

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.