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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2024–Mar 11th, 2024

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

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Danger ratings have dropped but continue to assess conditions as you travel.

Minimize your exposure to thin and rocky start zones.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported in the last 3 days.

Neighboring regions have observed ongoing large avalanche activity on the buried weak layer of facets over a crust. Although not as large or likely in this region, triggering persistent slabs is still a concern as this layer is present.

Please submit a MIN report if you have travelled in the backcountry recently.

Snowpack Summary

Surface conditions include sun crusts on south facing slopes, wind-affected snow, and small amounts of settling snow.

A widespread crust is buried 40-90 cm deep, in some areas a weak layer of facets can be found above but recent tests suggest this layer is gaining strength and 'healing'. No recent avalanche activity has been reported on this layer in this region, however this is the primary layer of concern in the snowpack.

The snowpack below this crust is strong and well bonded.

Weather Summary

Sunday Night

Partly cloudy with flurries bringing up to 5 cm of snow. 30-40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level drops to 500 m.

Monday

Partly cloudy with isolated flurries. 20-30 km/h southerly ridgetop wind. Freezing levels around 1500 m, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Tuesday

Partly cloudy. 20-40 km/h southerly ridgetop wind. Freezing levels around 1500 m, treeline temperature -2 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly clear skies. 10-20 km/h westerly ridgetop wind. Freezing levels around 1500 m, treeline temperature -2 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • This avalanche problem is difficult to trigger but if so, consequences are serious.
  • Avoid rock outcroppings, convexities, and anywhere the snowpack is thin and/or variable.
  • Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.

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.