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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 20th, 2022–Dec 21st, 2022

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
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.

Up to 15 cm low-density snow fell in the south of the region on Tuesday. Where the wind picks up, fresh wind slabs will form.

Come prepared with lots of warm layers, hot drinks and a headlamp when venturing out. Cold temperatures and short days can turn even small incidents like broken equipment into a very bad time.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No avalanches have been reported in this area recently.

If you venture into the backcountry, please submit a MIN report, as it helps to strengthen our data gathering.

Snowpack Summary

Snowpack depths at upper elevations are around 80-110 cm.

Surface: 5-15 cm of recent snow buried previously hard wind-pressed surfaces in the alpine and faceting surfaces in sheltered areas.

Upper-pack: 30 cm of light snow continues to facet with cold temperatures. In exposed areas, you will find a series of old wind slabs and crusts on steep solar slopes.

Mid/lower-pack: A layer of surface hoar, crust, and faceted crystals is buried 50-70 cm deep. Observations are limited in this region, but this layer has produced numerous large avalanches in neighbouring regions. Below this layer, the snowpack is generally weak and faceted.

Weather Summary

Tuesday Night

Mainly clear, 30 km/h northwest wind, temperature low around -30 °C.

Wednesday

Mainly sunny, 30 km/h northerly wind, temperature high around -30 °C.

Thursday

Sunny with increasing cloud coverage in the afternoon, 20-30 km/h northeast wind switching to southeast, temperature high around -26 °C.

Friday

Cloudy, up to 6 cm of new snow, southerly wind increasing to 50 km/h, temperature rising to -15 °C.

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.
  • Small avalanches can have serious consequences in extreme terrain. Carefully evaluate your line for wind slab hazard before you commit to it.
  • 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.