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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 23rd, 2024–Feb 24th, 2024

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.

Continuously assess conditions and look for signs of instability as you move through terrain.

Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches were reported in the past couple days.

Snowpack Summary

Around 10 cm of new snow has buried a variety of layers including surface hoar in sheltered terrain, a crust on south and west facing slopes as well as old wind slab on exposed terrain. A new crust may be found on sun exposed terrain and all aspects below treeline.

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

The widespread crust buried in early February is down 30 to 50 cm and has sugary facets on top.

Weather Summary

Friday Night

Cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 35 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday

Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 25 to 40 km/h west alpine wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 60 to 80 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.

Monday

Partly cloudy with up to 10 cm of snow. 15 to 30 km/h southwest alpine wind. Treeline temperature -12 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Carefully monitor the bond between the new snow and old surface.
  • Look for signs of instability: whumphing, hollow sounds, shooting cracks, and recent avalanches.
  • Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.

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.

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.