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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 14th, 2024–Feb 15th, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Blue River, Clearwater, Esplanade, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Shuswap, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, Kokanee, North Okanagan, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Slab avalanches have been reactive to human triggers and even remote triggering from afar. This is most likely where the snow is wind affected and sitting above buried surface hoar or a crust.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Natural avalanche activity has tapered but numerous rider-triggered slab avalanches continue to be reported up to size 2.5. Some of these avalanches are failing on buried sun crust and surface hoar down 20-25 cm deep, and others are failing on a firm crust down 30-50 cm deep.

Many of the recent reports surprised people with wider than expected propagation and remote triggering from afar.

Snowpack Summary

A new sun crust likely exists on steep southerly facing aspects. 15 to 25 cm of snow overlies a variety of surfaces including a weak layer of small surface hoar in sheltered areas and/or a thin sun crust on solar aspects.

The widespread crust buried in early February is down 30 to 50 cm and is proving to be touchy to human and machine triggers.

Various weak layers persist in the mid to lower snowpack, however, triggering these layers is unlikely where they are capped by a thick crust.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Clear. 10 to 20 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15°C.

Thursday

Sunny. 20 to 25km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15°C.

Friday

Sunny with cloudy periods. 10 to 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10°C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Choose slopes that are well supported and have limited consequence.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.

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.

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.