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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 9th, 2025–Feb 10th, 2025

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
Below Threshold.
Treeline
Below Threshold.
Below Treeline
Below Threshold.

Regions

South Okanagan, Shuswap, North Okanagan.

Use caution in treeline and alpine areas sheltered from the wind, as a preserved weak layer may remain reactive.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

The last reports of avalanches were last weekend (Jan 2) when a few small natural and human-triggered dry loose avalanches were reported in steep northeast-facing terrain. See this great MIN for details!

Watch for sluffing in steep terrain and minimize your exposure to overhead hazards wherever possible.

Snowpack Summary

25 to 50 cm of storm snow from last week is beginning to facet. Deeper deposits can be found on north and east slopes in wind-loaded areas. This storm snow has not bonded well to the old snow surfaces, which includes melt-freeze crusts on sun-exposed slopes, large surface hoar or facets on shaded slopes, and wind-affected snow in exposed terrain at ridgelines.

A weak layer of surface hoar or facets is buried, 20 to 35 cm deep. This layer is most likely to be preserved in areas sheltered from the wind at treeline elevations.

The lower snowpack is strong and bonded. Treeline snow depths average 150 to 200 cm.

Weather Summary

Sunday night

Starry skies and few clouds. 10 to 25 km/h variable ridgetop wind. Treeline low temperature -21 °C.

Monday

Sunny with clouds. 10 to 15 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

Tuesday

Mostly sunny. 20 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -18 °C.

Wednesday

Mostly sunny. 10 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Make observations and continually assess conditions as you travel.
  • Fresh snow rests on a problematic persistent slab, don't let good riding lure you into complacency.
  • Be aware of the potential for loose avalanches in steep terrain where snow hasn't formed a slab.

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.