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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 8th, 2025–Feb 9th, 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.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Coquihalla, Harrison-Fraser, Manning, Skagit.

Conditions are tricky despite the moderate danger rating and sunny weather.

A persistent weak layer and wind slabs remain a concern.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Skiers reported seeing multiple slides they suspected were a couple of days old in the Thar Peak area off the Coquihalla on Friday. Several loose dry sluffs size 1 to 1.5 were also reported. Otherwise, no avalanches have been reported since last weekend.

Looking forward, we expect naturally triggered avalanches to be unlikely, but human triggering to remain possible.

Snowpack Summary

Wind effect has been extensive, and wind slabs can be found on various aspects extending well into treeline features. Up to 5 cm of new snow that fell Friday night is adding to 20 to 60 cm of old storm snow overlying a weak layer that developed in late January. In many areas, this layer consists of a hard crust. However, on shady, upper-elevation slopes, the new snow may be resting on faceted grains or surface hoar. A crust from December is buried 80 to 120 cm deep and may have facets around it in shallow areas. Otherwise, the lower snowpack is well consolidated.

Weather Summary

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy. 5 to 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -13 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -13 °C

Monday

Sunny. 40 to 50 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -16 °C

Tuesday

Sunny. 25 to 30 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -20 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.
  • Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Keep in mind that human triggering may persist as natural avalanches taper off.

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.