Avalanche forecast

Glacier

Feb 22 – 23, 2026Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 7 months ago

Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Persistent slab avalanches remain the primary concern.

Be on the lookout for wind slab development throughout the day on Sunday.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Expect wind slabs to develop throughout the day Sunday.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

    A surface hoar layer, down 30-60cm, is reactive to human triggering. A second layer of large surface hoar is buried 50-80cm deep and sits on a crust. Use caution in terrain that has not seen recent rider traffic - this is where triggering is most likely.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Loose avalanches may start small, but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

Field teams have remotely triggered numerous size 1 to 2 persistent slabs from low angle terrain at tree-line and below. These have been 40-60cm deep, failing on surface hoar layers in the upper snowpack.

Natural and human triggered dry loose avalanches have also been reported at upper elevations up to size 1.5.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 60cm of low density snow on the surface. Expect wind slab to develop with all this light snow available for transport.

The Feb 9 surface hoar (SH) is down 40-60cm and remains reactive in tests. The Feb 9 SH sits over a crust on solar aspects.

The Jan 26th layer, composed of surface hoar/facets/crust, is buried down 60-80cm. The largest surface hoar is preserved in sheltered areas below treeline.

Weather Summary

Warming temperatures on Sunday.

Tonight: Clear periods. Alp low -8°C. Wind S 20km/h. Freezing level (FZL) valley bottom.

Sun: Cloudy with scattered flurries, 5cm. Alp high -4°C. S winds 25-45km/h. FZL 1700m.

Mon: Flurries, 8 cm. High -4. Wind SW 20 gusting to 70km/h. FZL 1500 metres.

Tues Cloudy / sunny periods and isolated flurries. Trace precipitation. Wind SW 15 km/h gusting to 45 km/h. FZL 900m.

Regions covered