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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 13th, 2024–Feb 14th, 2024

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

Regions

Northwest Coastal, Boundary, Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Stewart, Howson, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw, Ningunsaw.

Use extra caution on steep slopes at treeline.

Buried surface hoar has been reactive to skiers and even produced remotely triggered avalanches.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Over the past few days numerous human triggered avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported, these avalanches all failed on the surface hoar and facet layer described in the snowpack summary. Most of these avalanches were at treeline with a few being triggered in the alpine.

Remotely triggered avalanches have also been reported like the one in this MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 20 cm of recent storm snow has been redistributed into wind slabs by variable winds, wind slab could exist on all aspects as a result. In sheltered terrain this snow overlies a layer of surface hoar and facets. A new crust may be found on steep south facing slopes.

Below this is a thick and hard melt-freeze crust extending up to approximately 1700 m. This crust is just buried by the 10 to 20 cm of new snow at lower elevations.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Clear skies with no new snow expected. 20 to 50 km/h outflow wind. Treeline temperature -3°C with a temperature inversion and colder temperatures below treeline.

Wednesday

Clear skies with no new snow expected. 30 to 50 km/h outflow wind. Treeline temperature -5°C.

Thursday

Clear skies with no new snow expected. 40 to 70 km/h outflow wind. Treeline temperature -5°C.

Friday

Clear skies with no new snow expected. 40 to 70 km/h outflow wind. Treeline temperature -5°C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully assess open slopes and convex rolls where buried surface hoar may be preserved.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.

Problems

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.

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.