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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 22nd, 2025–Feb 23rd, 2025

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

South Coast Inland, Birkenhead, Duffey, South Chilcotin, Stein, Taseko.

Increase caution on sunny slopes and as you reach elevations with dry, wind-redistributed new snow. Weak layers in the upper snowpack could produce surprising avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Wednesday, a group reported being able to ski cut wet slabs in the forest due to warming temperatures.

Several storm slab (up to size 1.5) avalanches have been reported recently, some have been triggered remotely from up to 10 m away. There are reports of these avalanches sliding on the layer of facets (now 40 - 60 cm deep) that formed during the drought in January.

Snowpack Summary

10 - 15 cm of wet new snow Saturday should bring us to 25 - 30 cm accumulation on top of various problematic surfaces formed during recent cold, dry conditions. These include firm wind effect in exposed terrain, weak surface hoar or faceted grains in sheltered, shaded terrain, and sun crusts on sun-affected slopes.

40 to 60 cm of generally faceted snow overlies a weak layer buried in late January. In most areas, this layer consists of a hard crust along with weak facets or surface hoar. It has been implicated in a few recent small avalanches.

The mid and lower snowpack is strong and bonded.

Weather Summary

Saturday night

Mainly cloudy with up to 10 - 15 cm of new snow, greatest in the alpine. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 2000 m.

Sunday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1700 m.

Monday

A mix of sun and cloud after 5 - 10 cm accumulation overnight, greatest in the alpine. 15 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1700 m.

Tuesday

Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries. 15 - 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Freezing level 1700 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Avoid thin areas like rocky outcrops where you're most likely to trigger avalanches on deep weak layers.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.

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.

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.