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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 11th, 2024–Feb 12th, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Blue River, Clearwater, Esplanade, Jordan, North Monashee, North Selkirk, Shuswap, West Purcell, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Valhalla, Whatshan.

New snow and wind have formed fresh storm slabs that may be reactive to human triggers.

Use small low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Numerous natural and rider triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 2.5 were reported on a variety of aspects at treeline and above on Saturday. The depth of the slabs was on average 20-30 cm.

The forecast snow and wind Sunday night is expected to increase avalanche activity on Monday.

Snowpack Summary

15 to 25 cm of new snow overlies a weak layer of small surface hoar in sheltered areas and/or a thin sun crust on solar aspects.

The widespread crust buried in early February is down 35 to 55 cm. The snow has been reported as bonding well to the crust in most areas, but this may change as the snow load increases.

Various weak layers persist in the mid to lower snowpack, however, triggering these layers is unlikely where they are capped by a thick crust.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Cloudy with 5 to 15 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with 3 to 5cm of snow. 15 to 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

Tuesday

Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.

Wednesday

Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h east ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Use small low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.
  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Even a small avalanche can be harmful if it pushes you into an obstacle or a terrain trap.

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.

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.