Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 26th, 2024–Feb 27th, 2024

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Alpine

Natural and human triggered avalanches likely.

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 avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Regions

Cariboos, North Rockies, Blue River, Clearwater, McBride, Premier, Quesnel, Sugarbowl, Clemina, North Monashee, McGregor, Renshaw, Robson.

Very dangerous avalanche conditions remain. Humans are very likely to trigger high-consequence avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

An avalanche cycle occurred on the weekend with widespread avalanche activity occurring within the storm snow. Natural and human triggered persistent slab avalanches occurred on the weak layer of faceted grains associated with the early-February crust described in the Snowpack Summary. They were mostly on northerly aspects between 1600 and 2000 m and were 50 to 80 cm thick.

Rider triggering is expected to continue for the foreseeable future with this snowpack setup.

Snowpack Summary

50 to 90 cm of recent snow sits on a variety of layers that it may not bond well to, including surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain, weak facets, or a hard melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed south and west-facing slopes. The wind has likely formed thicker deposits in lee terrain features near ridges.

A thick and hard widespread crust that formed in early February is buried 50 to 100 cm deep and is found up to around 2400 m. This crust may have a layer of facets above it, which makes it a troublesome avalanche layer.

The remainder of the snowpack is settled.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with 2 to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -21 °C.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -19 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow and afternoon clearing. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Only the most simple non-avalanche terrain free of overhead hazard is appropriate at this time.
Shooting cracks, whumphs and recent avalanches are strong indicators of an unstable snowpack.
Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
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.