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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Dec 9th, 2023–Dec 10th, 2023

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

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Fresh slabs may be triggerable by riders in wind-loaded features at upper elevations. Early-season conditions prevail.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

Signs of instability were reported in wind-loaded alpine areas on Friday. If you go out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Snowpack Summary

10-30 cm of snow sits on a hard melt-freeze crust. A spotty surface hoar layer may be found about 20 to 30 cm deep. It is likely that the intense rain from earlier this week destroyed this layer, but it could linger in isolated features.

The middle and base of the snowpack may still be moist from the rain, though weak faceted grains could persist where the snowpack is dry.

Snowpack depths at treeline are approximately 30 to 60 cm. The snowpack tapers drastically with elevation below treeline.

Weather Summary

Saturday night

5-10 cm of new snow. Moderate to strong southerly wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Sunday

Up to 3 cm of new snow. Moderate southwest wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Monday

Mix of sun and cloud. Light northwest wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.

Tuesday

Mix of sun and cloud. Moderate southerly wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Pay attention to the wind, once it starts to blow fresh sensitive wind slabs are likely to form.
  • Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
  • Early season avalanches at any elevation have the potential to be particularly dangerous due to obstacles that are exposed or just below the 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.