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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 7th, 2024–Feb 8th, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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, Esplanade, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Shuswap, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Heightened avalanche conditions exist in the alpine where the potential for human-triggering weak layers remains possible.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday, several size 1, skier-triggered wind slab and loose dry avalanches were reported throughout the region. These avalanches mainly occurred in steep terrain where the new snow has not bonded to the crust below.

On Monday, a MIN from a neighboring region reported a group bootpacking a couloir that triggered size 3 avalanche on a south-facing slope at 2600 m. This is evidence that where the crust isn't present the persistent problem remains a concern.

Snowpack Summary

Anywhere from 15 to 35 cm of dry snow sits atop a widespread, hard crust. In general, the crust is strong and thick enough to be supportive to travel on up to 2400 m where it tapers out.

In the mid and lower snowpack, various weak layers persist in areas, however, triggering any of these layers is unlikely where they are capped by the supportive crust above.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow. 5 to 15 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow, 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop winds, treeline temperature -8 °C.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Saturday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Avalanche hazard may have improved, but be mindful that deep instabilities are still present.

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.