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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 19th, 2026–Feb 20th, 2026

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

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

Generally safe avalanche conditions exist; however a persistent slab is lurking in some areas.

Watch out in wind-loaded alpine terrain or areas of the island with more than 30 cm of new snow.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain due to a limited number of field observations.
  • We are uncertain due to a highly variable snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

Some storm snow sluffing, but no avalanches have been reported in the past week.

If you are heading into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations with the Mountain Information Network.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 50 cm of snow is settling over a crust where it appears to be bonding well in most areas but produced some concerning snowpack test results in the Prince of Wales Range on Wednesday. The surface of this snow varies from sun-affected on solar slopes, surface hoar in sheltered areas, and soft facets on north aspects.

The remainder of the snowpack is well settled. The snowpack depth at treeline ranges from 85 to 130 cm, and there is very little snow below treeline.

While new snow has improved riding conditions, access is still a challenge, with new snow on bare rock/ground at low elevations.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Mostly clear skies. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Friday
Cloudy. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 30 cm of snow. 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 40 mm of precipitation. 60 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.

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.