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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 28th, 2026–Mar 1st, 2026

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

Regions

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

Warm temps, sun, and persistent weak layers are creating tricky conditions

Choose conservative low-angle terrain with no overhead hazard.

Check out this forecaster blog on conditions.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are confident that there are persistent slabs in the snowpack, but uncertain about how likely they are to trigger.

Avalanche Summary

Friday

Several skier-triggered slabs and one vehicle-triggered slab (up to size 2) were reported, along with numerous instances of whumpfing. All activity occurred at treeline and below on north through east aspects.

Thursday

Several size 1-1.5 wind slabs were triggered by people, including remotely. They failed on a layer of surface hoar under the storm snow.

Tuesday

A fatal, human-triggered (size 3.5) wind slab was triggered on a wind-loaded slope. MIN post here

Snowpack Summary

Strong to extreme southerly winds have created widespread wind effect and built wind slabs on lee slopes.

A melt-freeze crust can be found on sunny slopes and at lower elevations. This surface crust will likely soften with sun and daytime warming.

A couple of persistent weak layers buried in the last week may exist in the upper 30 to 60 cm of the snowpack. These consist of surface hoar, facets and crusts.

Buried around 60 to 100 cm is a prominent, persistent weak layer of facets and crust from early February.

The remaining snowpack appears to be strong and well-bonded.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night
Clear skies. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Sunday
Sunny. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Monday
Mostly sunny. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2200 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 4 to 10 cm of snow. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1900 m.



More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Recent strong wind means wind slabs may be found farther downslope than expected.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent 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.

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.

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.