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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 18th, 2026–Feb 19th, 2026

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
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

Dogtooth, East Purcell.

Storm snow has slowly increased the load on a buried weak layer.

Expect reactive storm slabs where there is more than 20 cm of snow over surface hoar or crusts.

Confidence

Moderate

  • We are uncertain due to a highly variable snowpack.

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday there was a size 2 explosives triggered storm snow avalanche, 10 to 30 cm deep on a northerly aspect. On Monday, several dry loose size 1 to 1.5 avalanches were reported.

Going forward, low density storm snow will likely release as dry loose avalanches, slab formation is possible in areas that receive over 20 cm of storm snow.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 20 cm of low density storm storm, continues to bury a weak layers in the upper snowpack.

Weak layer depths and distribution are variable, but there are two prominent layers:

  • A facet/crust layer buried at the end of January is down roughly 30 to 50 cm.

  • A surface hoar/crust layer buried early to mid February depending on location is down 15 to 20 cm.

Avalanche activity on these layers has been limited and is generally small with releases where wind loading has buried them slightly deeper.

Cutbanks and sheltered below treeline terrain are suspect places to trigger these layers where they are buried over 30 cm deep.

Below this, the mid and lower snowpack are well settled with several layers of crust

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.

Thursday

Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 15-25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Friday

Mostly sunny. 10-20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Saturday

Mix of sun and clouds. 15-30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Be aware of the potential for larger than expected storm slabs due to buried surface hoar.
  • Be aware of the potential for human triggerable storm slabs at lower elevations, even on small features.
  • Continue to make conservative terrain choices while the storm snow settles and stabilizes.

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.