Avalanche forecast

Glacier

Feb 23 – 24, 2026Avalanche Canada
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Archived · expired 7 months ago

Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Wind slab hazard is building at upper elevations and a persistent weak layer lurks down low.

Human and remote triggering of the persistent slab is still possible.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

    Last weeks storm snow has been by redistributed by moderate wind with strong gusts. Watch out for wind slab deployment in exposed terrain and near ridgetop.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–2.5

    A surface hoar layer, down 30-60cm, is reactive to human triggering. A second layer of large surface hoar is buried 50-80cm deep and sits on a crust. Use caution in terrain that has not seen recent rider traffic where triggering is most likely.

    See Avalanche Canada's blog post for addition info.

Confidence

Moderate

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

Avalanche Summary

Human triggered wind slab and persistent slab avalanches have been reported on the MIN.

Field teams have triggered numerous size 1 to 2 persistent slabs from low angle terrain at tree-line and below. These have been 40-60cm deep, failing on surface hoar layers in the upper snowpack.

Snowpack Summary

The surface has up to 60cm of low density snow in sheltered areas with wind slab development in exposed terrain.

The Feb 9 surface hoar (SH) is down 50-80cm and remains reactive in snowpack testing. The Feb 9 SH sits over a crust on solar aspects.

The Jan 26th layer, composed of surface hoar/facets/crust, is buried down 60-80cm. The largest surface hoar is preserved in sheltered areas below treeline.

Weather Summary

Gusty!

Tonight: Flurries, 6cm. Alp low -6°C. Wind SW 20 gusting to 75 km/h. Freezing level (FZL) 1200m.

Mon: Flurries, 8 cm. High -5. Wind SW 20 gusting to 75km/h. FZL 1400 metres.

Tues Cloudy / sunny periods and isolated flurries. Trace precipitation. High -8. Wind SW 20 gusting to 50 km/h. FZL 900m.

Wed Cloudy with scattered flurries, 4 cm. High -7. Wind SW 20 gusting to 60 km/h. FZL 900m.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Surface hoar distribution is highly variable. Avoid generalizing your observations.
  • If triggered, wind slabs may step down to deeper layers, causing larger avalanches.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.

Regions covered