Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 4th, 2025–Feb 5th, 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

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

Slab properties is the name of the game at the moment. Treat any snow that feels hard or slabby with caution.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Wind slabs were observed in alpine terrain on all aspects on Tuesday.

On Monday, riders triggered small storm slab avalanches within the recent storm snow. They were 20 cm deep at treeline on northerly aspects. These add to the many small to large (size 1 to 2) slabs observed on the weekend, on all aspects and elevations.

Similar avalanches remain triggerable by humans anywhere a hard, consolidated slab of snow rests on weak layers. Read more about this problem here.

Snowpack Summary

Around 30 to 50 cm of snow accumulated since last Friday. This snow has been redistributed by strong wind from various directions at higher elevations but it remains soft in wind-sheltered terrain. The snow overlies various layers that it may not bond well to, including faceted grains, surface hoar crystals in wind-sheltered openings, and a hard melt-freeze crust on sun-exposed slopes.

The middle to upper portion of the snowpack between approximately 60 and 120 cm is relatively weak with numerous other layers of faceted grains, surface hoar, and/or crusts that formed over the month of January.

The lower snowpack is strong.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear skies. 10 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -22 °C.

Wednesday

Clear skies. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -20 °C.

Thursday

Partly cloudy. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Friday

Partly cloudy. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.
Be aware of the potential for remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.

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.