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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 20th, 2026–Feb 21st, 2026

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

Regions

Glacier.

Conservative decision making is the best way to increase your safety margin during times of uncertainty.

Folks are still getting surprised by persistent slab activity.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

This week field teams have remotely triggered numerous size 1 to 2 persistent slabs from low angle terrain at tree-line and below. These have been 40-60cm deep, failing on surface hoar layers in the upper snowpack.

In the Bostock drainage two separate size 2 avalanches were triggered from 10 to 40m away breaking small trees.

On Monday, a sz 2 avalanche in Cougar Creek East caught and injured a rider.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 60cm of new snow fell this past week. Expect dry loose avalanches in steep terrain, especially where new snow sits over a crust.

The Feb 9 surface hoar (SH) is under this new snow (down 40-60cm) and is reactive in tests. The Feb 9 SH sits over a crust in many locations.

The Jan 26th layer, composed of surface hoar/facets/crust, is buried down 60-80cm. The largest surface hoar is preserved in sheltered areas below treeline.

Weather Summary

The arctic airmass will slowly be pushed out with a warming trend towards Monday.

Tonight: Clear periods. Alp low -14°C. Wind S 15km/h. Freezing level (FZL) valley bottom.

Sat: Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries. Alp high -8°C. Ridge winds S 20km/h. FZL 1100m.

Sun: Flurries, 6 cm. Alp high -6°C. S winds 30km/h. FZL 1700m.

Mon: Cloudy, scattered flurries, 4 cm. Wind SW 15 km/h gusting to 40. FZL 1400 metres

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Loose avalanches may start small, but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.

Problems

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 Dry

Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.