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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 22nd, 2024–Feb 23rd, 2024

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

Regions

North Columbia, South Columbia, Esplanade, Jordan, North Selkirk, Badshot-Battle, Central Selkirk, Gold.

Don’t let the new snow lure you into high consequence terrain.

In addition to the weak layers new snow has fallen on, we are still concerned about the layers from earlier this month.

Confidence

No Rating

Avalanche Summary

Numerous storm and wind slab avalanches up to size 2 were  reported on Wednesday. Triggers included natural, human and remote. Avalanches occurred on a variety of aspects and generally at treeline and above. These avalanches all failed on weak layers in the top meter of the snowpack.

Numerous wet loose avalanches up to size 2 were also reported. These avalanches were triggered in steep terrain below 2000 m.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 30 cm of recent snow has buried a variety of surfaces including surface hoar in sheltered terrain and old wind slab on exposed slopes. Several crusts exist on sun exposed slopes and below treeline.

Another layer of surface hoar is down around 20 to 50 cm in sheltered areas.

The widespread crust buried in early February is down 40 to 65 cm and has sugary facets on top. In most places, this crust is widespread up to 2400 m.

The base of the snowpack is still loose and faceted in shallow rocky alpine areas.

Weather Summary

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy. 15 to 25 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -4°C.

Friday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow. 15 to 35 km/h southwest alpine wind. Freezing level rising up to 1700 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with up to 20 cm of new snow. 25 to 40 km/h west alpine wind. Freezing level rising up to 1600 m.

Sunday

Cloudy with up to 20 cm of new snow. 30 to 50 km/h southwest alpine wind. Freezing level around 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Keep in mind that human triggering potential persists as natural avalanching tapers off.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
  • Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.

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.

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.