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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 4th, 2025–Feb 5th, 2025

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

Regions

Vancouver Island, East Island, North Island, South Island, West Island.

A buried weak layer is causing storm slabs to remain sensitive to human triggering for longer than normal.

See the latest Forecaster Blog "Keeping a Conservative Mindset" for more details.

Confidence

Low

Avalanche Summary

On Sunday, a skier was involved in an avalanche on a northeast aspect at treeline in the Mount Cain area (MIN report).

Over the weekend, a variety of natural and skier-triggered storm slab avalanches up to size 2 were reported. Due to the underlying weak layer, storm slab avalanches are expected to remain sensitive to human triggering on Wednesday.

Snowpack Summary

Around 30 to 60 cm of new snow has accumulated over the past few days. This storm snow is sitting on a hard melt-freeze crust in most areas and may also be sitting over a weak layer of facets and/or surface hoar on high north aspects. In wind-exposed terrain, the recent storm snow has been redistributed by moderate to strong southwest wind.

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

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy with a chance of flurries. 20 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

Wednesday

A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 20 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Thursday

Mainly sunny. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday

A mix of sun and cloud. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried weak layers.
  • In times of uncertainty, conservative terrain choices are our best defense.

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.