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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2025–Feb 22nd, 2025

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Alpine
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Treeline
Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie.

As the storm slab problem worsens, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.Stick to simple, low-angle slopes and avoid overhead hazards as remote-triggering is a concern.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

No recent slab avalanches have been reported, however, whumpfing which is a strong sign of unstable snow, was reported on Thursday. Check out the MIN report. Additionally, over the last few days, several small (size 1 to 1.5) natural and human-triggered dry loose avalanches were reported running in steep terrain.

Looking forward, we expect avalanche activity to rapidly increase as snow starts to accumulate along with strong winds and warming over the weekend.

Snowpack Summary

Overnight and through Saturday, 10 to 25 cm of fresh snow is expected, accompanied by moderate to strong southerly winds. This will contribute to widespread, sensitive storm slabs. This new snowfall will accumulate on top of 10 to 20 cm of existing snow, which currently rests on surface hoar from mid-February or a thin sun crust on steep, south-facing slopes. Beneath this, 20 to 60 cm of faceted snow sits atop a surface hoar layer buried in late January, which has been most reactive where a slab has developed above it. For more insight into slab formation, check out this blog. Outside of these layers, the remaining snowpack is generally well-settled.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow, possible rain below 1500 m. 30 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level rising to 1600 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow, possible rain below 1600 m. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.

Monday

Partly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid avalanche terrain during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind, or rain.
  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.
  • Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.

Problems

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.