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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 17th, 2025–Feb 18th, 2025

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, human triggered possible.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Assess for new wind slabs as you gain elevation

Small wind slabs could be sensitive to rider traffic due to the underlying weak layers

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

At the time of publishing, no new avalanches were reported in the past 7 days.

Snowpack Summary

An average of 5 cm of recent storm snow, with up to 25 cm in isolated hotspots near the border, has fallen with variable wind, potentially forming wind slab on all aspects. In sheltered terrain this new snow may overlie soft, faceted snow or surface hoar. In exposed terrain it will overlie a sun crust or wind-affected snow.

At lower elevations a new crust could be on or near the surface.

A weak layer from late January, buried 40 to 60 cm deep, is a hard crust in many areas but consists of facets or surface hoar on sheltered upper-elevation slopes.

A crust from December is buried 80 to 140 cm deep, with facets around it in shallow snowpack areas. Otherwise, the lower snowpack is strong and bonded.

Weather Summary

Monday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Tuesday

Cloudy with trace amounts of snow. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Wednesday

Cloudy with up to 5 mm of mixed precipitation. 25 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with up to 5 mm of mixed precipitation. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Be careful as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.
  • Recent wind has varied in direction, so watch for wind slabs on all aspects.

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.