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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 21st, 2025–Mar 22nd, 2025

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

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Recent snow and wind have built fresh wind slabs.

Seek out soft snow with no wind effect for a combination of the best riding and lowest hazard.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, skiers near Silver Star ski cut a few small size 1 wind slabs.

Skiers near Big White were able to ski cut several small wind slabs on alpine northeast-facing slopes on Thursday.

With 10 to 15 cm of recent snow and moderate westerly winds forecast, there is good potential for wind slabs to remain reactive through Saturday.

Snowpack Summary

10 to 15 cm of recent snow has been blown by southwesterly wind, building wind slabs near and just below ridge crests at alpine and treeline elevations. Below that, 30 to 50 cm of snow overlies a melt-freeze crust. Two weak layers of surface hoar and/or faceted grains associated with a crust from late January and mid-February may be found 60 to 120 cm deep. Recently, these layers have been unreactive and are not a significant concern. The mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Friday night

Mostly clear. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Saturday

Mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Sunday

Cloudy with 10 to 20 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop winds. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +2 °C. Freezing level rising to 2100 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
  • Seek out sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been affected by wind.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.

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.