Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 14th, 2026–Feb 15th, 2026

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 possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Ymir, Crawford, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

New snow will be especially sensitive to seeing the sun for the first time. Below, a complex upper snowpack contains suspect layers at prime depth for human triggering.

Confidence

Moderate

We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

Up until early last week, small human-triggered persistent slab avalanches were being reported regularly on the late January surface hoar/crust/facet layer. On Thursday, a skier-controlled cornice failure did not trigger the layer on the slope below.

Looking forward, this layer may become active again as it is loaded with new snow.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 15 cm of new snow sits over a widespread layer of large surface hoar crystals, and/or a crust on solar aspects. This is the uppermost of three major surface hoar/crust layers in the upper snowpack.

At this time, the most concerning of them is the deepest and most widespread. Buried in late January, it now sits roughly 40 to 60 cm deep. It is composed of surface hoar on a melt-freeze crust, with a thick layer of facets below. Avalanche activity on this layer has tapered but this snowpack structure remains a concern as new snow load is added.

The mid and lower snowpack remain well settled, with no other significant concerns at this time.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Partly cloudy. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
Limit exposure to steep, sun exposed slopes, especially when the solar radiation is strong.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.