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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 17th, 2024–Feb 18th, 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.

Start on small slopes, and downgrade your objective if you find signs of instability like shooting cracks or whumpfs.

Touchy slabs have been surprising backcountry users.

Confidence

High

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported at the time of publishing on Saturday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, several large (up to size 2.5) natural and rider-triggered wind slab avalanches were reported. These occurred on all aspects, but mostly on north through east in the alpine.

Recently, avalanches have surprised people with wider-than-expected propagation and remote triggering from afar. See the example photo.

Snowpack Summary

Depending on temperature and time of day, a sun crust or moist snow will likely exist on steep south facing aspects. The alpine is generally wind-affected. In sheltered terrain, 15 to 25 cm of snow overlies a variety of layers including a weak layer of small surface hoar and/or another thin sun crust on solar aspects.

The widespread crust buried in early February is down 30 to 50 cm and has recently been touchy to human and machine triggers. In most places, this crust is widespread up to 2400 m.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Mostly clear skies. 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C. Possible temperature inversion.

Sunday

Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Monday

Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Tuesday

Cloudy. 15 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
  • A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
  • Keep in mind the crust offers an excellent bed surface for avalanches.

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.