Avalanche Forecast

Issued: Feb 19th, 2025 4:00PM

The alpine rating is moderate, the treeline rating is low, and the below treeline rating is below threshold. Known problems include Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.

Avalanche Canada Avalanche Canada, Avalanche Canada

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Terrain sheltered from the wind will be the place to find the best riding.

Verify conditions as you travel. The snowpack is highly variable and weather could vary across the forecast area.

Summary

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in the past week.

If you are traveling in the mountains consider posting to the MIN.

Snowpack Summary

Expect 5 to 10 cm of new snow to be covering wind-affected surfaces in exposed terrain on all aspects and elevations. Moderate to strong south and southwest winds will likely be forming deeper deposits in leeward terrain. Ongoing cold temperatures have softened the upper snowpack in sheltered terrain.

A weak layer of facets and a crust from early December is buried 60 to 100 cm deep. This layer exists on all aspects up to 1750 m.

At the highway elevation, the snow is 120 cm deep, and in the alpine exceeds 200 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 2 to 4 cm of snow. 30 to 45 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 6 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 2 to 6 cm of snow. 35 to 50 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 5 °C.

Friday

Partly cloudy with 3 to 10 cm of snow. 40 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature - 3 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with 3 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rocky outcrops, and steep terrain where triggering is most likely.
  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.

Problems

Wind Slabs

An icon showing Wind Slabs

The snow overnight Wednesday and into Thursday may not amount to much, but if there is enough to produce visibly blowing snow, expect to find small, reactive wind slabs in leeward and cross-loaded terrain.

Aspects: North, North East, East, North West.

Elevations: Alpine.

Likelihood

Possible

Expected Size

1 - 2

Persistent Slabs

An icon showing Persistent Slabs

Large, steep, open slopes with shallow snowpacks are the most likely place to trigger a large avalanche on this layer. To avoid this problem, choose terrain sheltered from the wind that tends to catch and hold more snow.

Aspects: All aspects.

Elevations: Alpine.

Likelihood

Unlikely

Expected Size

2 - 3

Valid until: Feb 20th, 2025 4:00PM

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