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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 8th, 2025–Feb 9th, 2025

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

Brandywine, Garibaldi, Spearhead, Tantalus.

Conditions are tricky despite the moderate danger rating and sunny weather.

The best and safest riding will be on slopes with soft snow and no slab properties.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous small to very large avalanches were reported in the past week. Natural activity has declined, but small human-triggered slides persist daily. On Friday two separate parties accidentally triggered wind slabs near Whistler, and whumpfing was described in this MIN report.

Last Tuesday two notable avalanches were reported: One resulted in a person being fully buried for a lengthy time (MIN report here) and another was a near-miss for a snowmobiler. (Photo below)

Snowpack Summary

Wind-affected snow and wind slabs formed by recent shifting wind can be found on various aspects at upper elevations. Steep sunny slopes may be moist or have a thin surface crust, shady slopes are growing surface hoar. 35 to 70 cm of old storm snow is slowly settling and has remained dry and powdery in many areas with cold temperatures. This snow is sitting on a weak layer that developed in late January: In most areas, it is a hard slippery crust, however, on shady, upper-elevation slopes, it may rest on faceted grains or surface hoar. The mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and bonded with no other layers of concern.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Clear skies. 10 to 15 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 km/h northerly ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Monday

Sunny. 15 to 25 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.

Tuesday

Sunny. 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to a buried crust.
  • Avoid lee and cross-loaded slopes at alpine and treeline elevations.
  • Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.

Problems

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.

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.