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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 16th, 2025–Feb 17th, 2025

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, 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.

Regions

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

A buried weak layer is best managed with conservative terrain choices.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Saturday, numerous small wind slabs were triggered by riders as well as many dry loose avalanches and sluffs.

On Wednesday, a rider remotely triggered a persistent slab avalanche (size 2) on an east-facing slope just above 2000 m. (See photo below)

Snowpack Summary

10 to 20 cm of recent snow sits on a layer of surface hoar from the middle of February, or a thin sun crust on steep south-facing slopes.

Below that, 20 to 60 cm of faceted snow overlies a persistent weak layer from late January. This layer is either a crust on sun-exposed slopes or surface hoar on all other aspects. It is most reactive where a slab has formed above this layer. You can read more about slabs in this blog.

The lower snowpack is generally well settled.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 3 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Tuesday

Sunny. 10 to 25 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.
  • Watch for signs of instability like whumpfing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, or recent avalanches.

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.