Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 10th, 2026–Feb 11th, 2026

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Alpine

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Treeline

Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.

Below Treeline

Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Cariboos, South Columbia, Blue River, Esplanade, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold.

Storm slabs overlying a persistent weak layer are creating dangerous avalanche conditions.

Careful snowpack evaluation and conservative terrain choices are essential right now.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, there were numerous reports of natural, skier-triggered and remote-triggered avalanches across the region up to size 2.5. Some were storm slabs that stepped down to the late January persistent weak layer.

Storm slabs should slowly gain strength but may remain reactive, with the potential to step down to a persistent layer buried deep in the snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

20 to 50 cm of settling storm snow is covering a new layer of surface hoar and/or a melt-freeze crust that formed on February 7th in many areas. Southwesterly winds will likely continue building thicker slabs on lee slopes near ridgetops.

At lower elevations and on sunny slopes, the snow surface may be crusty.

The late January persistent weak layer, consisting of surface hoar/facets/crust, is buried 40 to 80 cm. It has surprised people with its reactivity over the past week, especially in sheltered treeline features.

The mid and lower snowpack is well settled with no layers of concern.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Wednesday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Thursday
Mostly sunny. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.
Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.
Be especially cautious as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

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.