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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 23rd, 2024–Feb 24th, 2024

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

Regions

Cariboos, Blue River, Clearwater, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Clemina, North Monashee.

Look for signs of instability as you move up and dial back your terrain choices as the snow gets deeper.

New snow sits on a persistent weak layer, it is uncertain how this layer will react.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Only small, dry loose avalanches in steep terrain have been reported in the past couple of days. Avalanche activity is expected to increase rapidly with incoming snow.

Snowpack Summary

Another 20 to 30 cm is expected by the end of day on Saturday. This will add to the 20 to 30 cm that has buried a variety of weak layers including surface hoar and facets in sheltered terrain, a crust on south and west-facing slopes as well as old wind slab on exposed terrain.

The widespread crust buried in early February is near the surface on exposed alpine terrain and down up to 50 cm elsewhere. In many areas, this crust has a layer of facets above.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with up to 15 cm of snow. 15 to 35 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 20 to 40 cm of snow. 35 to 60 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Monday

Partly cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 15 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Shooting cracks, whumphs and recent avalanches are strong indicators of an unstable snowpack.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

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.