Dashboard Regions Weather Stations Radar Alerts Glossary
Contact About
Log In

Register for an account and never miss a forecast again!

Register

Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 20th, 2023–Dec 21st, 2023

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

South Columbia, Shuswap, Badshot-Battle, Goat, Gold, North Okanagan, Whatshan.

Approach avalanche terrain with caution, especially in areas where the presence of buried surface hoar remains a concern.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No recent avalanche observations have been reported.

If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

Roughly 20 cm of new snow has accumulated over the last week. This may have buried a layer of surface hoar in wind-sheltered terrain. A crust formed during the early December rain event exists down roughly 30 to 60 cm from the surface and is highly variable in strength, and thickness at this time.

A concerning layer of buried surface hoar is 60 to 100 cm below the surface at treeline and above.

Lower snowpack is generally facetted, with no particular layers of concern currently. The height of snow at treeline is roughly 80 to 150 cm.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 0 to 5 cm of snow, west alpine winds 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Thursday

Cloudy with 0 to 3 cm of snow, west alpine winds 30 to 40 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Friday

Cloudy with 2 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 40 to 50 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Saturday

Mostly sunny, with no precipitation, northwest alpine winds 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Uncertainty is best managed through conservative terrain choices at this time.
  • Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
  • Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.

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.