(UPDATE: March 21 @ 2:00 p.m.) - SilverStar Mountain Resort in Vernon has closed more terrain following an avalanche.
On Wednesday, the Putnam Creek area on the backside of the mountain was closed following the avalanche, which resulted in a man being airlifted to hospital.
SilverStar has now closed the Alpine Meadows Chair and some south/southwest facing terrain east of the gondola as avalanche consultants conduct a resort wide assessment of snow conditions.
The Comet Express, Des Schumann Summit Express Gondola, Silver Queen, Silverwoods Express, The Zone Carpet, Adventure Center carpet, Tube Town Carpet remain open - a total of 7 of 10 lifts open with access to 46 runs of skiing and riding.
(Original Story) - A man was airlifted to hospital following an avalanche at SilverStar mountain resort on Wednesday.
The avalanche occurred just after 12 p.m. on a double black diamond run located on the backside of the mountain known as Putman Creek, which has since been closed to handle the situation.
According to SilverStar, the incident was an “isothermal” avalanche known to occur when all layers of the snowpack are wet and sitting near the freezing points.
It’s a common condition during springtime when temperatures fluctuate between melting and freezing.
On Monday, Avalanche Canada issued an extreme backcountry avalanche warning for the majority of the province due to similar conditions.
⚠️ We've issued a special public avalanche warning for all forecast regions in Western Canada. Warming temperatures are expected to destabilize the snow pack, resulting in the potential for large avalanches.
— Avalanche Canada (@avalancheca) March 18, 2019
Read the full warning 👉https://t.co/8uFEZUHqA4 pic.twitter.com/GLigHpqchF
Despite the backside of the mountain being closed, the rest of SilverStar is operating as normal.
