Kootenay Boundary

Watch for signs of warming and instability in the upper snowpack and be ready to back off of steep slopes.

On Thursday in the Kokanee area, a skier triggered a size 1.5 slab on the buried crust detailed in the snowpack summary. This is the first report of an avalanche running on this crust in any region. The failure has not been repeatable in snowpack tests and appears to be an isolated incident at this time.

Data in this region is limited. Please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).

Various snow surfaces exist, including crusts, moist snow, settled powder, old wind effect.

A widespread hard crust is buried 40 to 60 cm deep. Recent observations indicate that facets may be developing ontop of the crust in isolated areas. The crust is effectively providing a bridge over an underlying surface hoar layer.

Average snowpack depths at treeline are roughly 70 to 130 cm. Snow depths taper dramatically at lower elevations.

Friday night

Partly cloudy. Moderate southeast wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 3000 m.

Saturday

Increasing cloud. Moderate southeast wind easing to light southwest. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.

Sunday

Mostly cloudy with a few flurries. Light northwest wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Monday

Mostly cloudy. Light southerly wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 900 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• A moist or wet snow surface, pinwheeling and natural avalanches are all indicators of a weakening snowpack.
• Back off slopes as the surface becomes moist or wet with rising temperatures.
• Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.