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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 5th, 2026–Feb 6th, 2026

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

Regions

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

Warm temperatures continue to form cohesive slabs over a widespread weak layer.

The likelihood and potential size of slab avalanches largely depend on the depth of this layer.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain due to how buried persistent weak layers will react with the forecast weather.

Avalanche Summary

A widespread avalanche cycle occurred last weekend on the late-January surface hoar layer, producing avalanches up to size 2.

While avalanche activity has gradually decreased since the weekend, several smaller natural and human-triggered slab avalanches (size 1–1.5) have occurred across the region, also failing on the late-January layer.

In general, recent avalanche activity has been most common near treeline, on a variety of aspects.

Snowpack Summary

Either a thin surface crust or moist snow is expected Friday morning, depending on the strength of the overnight freeze.

Continued warm temperatures and sunny skies will likely lead to moist snow on all aspects and at all elevations by the end of the day.

Approximately 30 to 40 cm of recent snow continues to settle into a cohesive slab over a widespread late-January weak layer of surface hoar on a melt-freeze crust, with up to 15 cm of weak, faceted snow immediately below the crust.

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

Weather Summary

Thursday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 5 °C. Freezing level 3400 m.

Friday
Sunny. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 to 15 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.
  • The more the snowpack warms up and weakens, the more conservative your terrain selection should be.
  • Avoid travelling on slopes below cornices.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.