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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 7th, 2025–Feb 8th, 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, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kitimat, Nass, Rupert, Seven Sisters, Shames, Howson.

Continually assess conditions as you move through terrain

Cold temperatures are softening the upper snowpack, avalanches are most likely where the snowpack feels “slabby”

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Thursday several natural dry loose avalanches up to size 1.5 were observed in steep southerly terrain. Several small skier triggered wind slab avalanches were also reported.

On Wednesday 1 size 2.5 remotely triggered persistent slab avalanche was reported. This avalanche was on a northwest aspect in the alpine and ran on the surface hoar from late January. A few natural wind slab avalanches up to size 1.5 were also reported.

Snowpack Summary

Strong to extreme northeast outflow wind has scoured  windward terrain at all elevations. In sheltered terrain 20 to 40 cm of faceted snow overlies a surface hoar layer from late January.

Another layer of surface hoar was buried near the middle of January and can be found 30 to 50 cm deep.

A layer of facets and a crust from early December is buried  100 to 200 cm deep. This layer is generally not a concern in this region.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Clear skies. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -15 °C, potential for inversion with warmer temperatures in the alpine.

Saturday

Sunny. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday

Sunny. 15 to 30 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.

Monday

Sunny. 10 to 25 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Approach steep and open slopes at and below treeline cautiously, as buried surface hoar may exist.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to buried surface hoar.
  • Remote triggering is a concern; avoid terrain where triggering overhead slopes is possible.

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.