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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 13th, 2026–Feb 14th, 2026

Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
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, Purcells, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Ymir, Crawford, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

New snow adds another layer to a complex upper snowpack. Human-triggered avalanches are a concern. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully.

Confidence

Moderate

  • Persistent slabs could become more likely with the forecast weather.
  • We are uncertain about forecast snowfall amounts.

Avalanche Summary

There have been no avalanche observations since early last week. Up until then, small human-triggered persistent slab avalanches were being reported regularly on the late January surface hoar/crust/facet layer.

Looking forward, this layer may become active again as it is loaded with new snow.

Snowpack Summary

The next storm ushers in another layer of complexity in an increasingly complex upper snowpack.

10 to 20 cm of new snow buries a widespread layer of large surface hoar crystals, and/or a crust on solar aspects. This is uppermost of three surface hoar/crust layers in the top 50 cm.

The most concerning of them is the deepest and most widespread, composed of surface hoar on a melt-freeze crust, with a thick layer of facets below. It was buried in late January and now sits roughly 30 to 50 cm deep. Avalanche activity on this layer has tapered but this snowpack structure remains a concern.

The mid and lower snowpack remain well settled, with no significant concerns at this time.

Weather Summary

Friday Night
Cloudy. 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Saturday
Cloudy. 2 to 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Sunday
Mostly sunny. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h south 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 remote triggering and large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Use careful route-finding and stick to moderate angled slopes with low consequences.

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.