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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 9th, 2025–Mar 10th, 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

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Use caution in wind affected terrain

New wind slabs could be reactive to rider traffic

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Two large (size 2) storm slabs were triggered with explosives near Kamloops on Thursday.

No other avalanches have been reported in the past 3 days.

Snowpack Summary

By Monday morning 10 to 20 cm of snow could have accumulated with strong southwest winds, forming deeper deposits on north and east facing slopes. This new snow will fall over a widespread melt-freeze crust, in sheltered features small surface hoar crystals  may be on it. The crust exists on all aspects, except possibly high-elevation north-facing slopes.

30 to 60 cm further down is a crust or surface hoar/facet layer from mid February.

A weak layer, buried in late January, consists of surface hoar, facets, and/or a crust, is found 50 to 90 cm deep.

Below this, the mid and lower snowpack is generally settled and strong.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 40 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Monday

Cloudy with up to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Tuesday

A mix of sun and cloud with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy with 1 to 3 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
  • Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind-loaded snow.
  • Be mindful that deep instabilities are still present in the snowpack.
  • Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.

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.

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.