Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bonnington, Crawford, Grohman, Kootenay Boundary, Kootenay Pass, Moyie, Norns, Rossland, South Okanagan, St. Mary, Ymir.
The recent snow requires more time to stabilize and bond to underlying surfaces.
Choose terrain without terrain traps or overhead hazards.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Wednesday a skier remotely triggered a size 2 slab avalanche from 80 metres away on a layer of facets and surface hoar over a crust down 90 cm. Southeast aspect at treeline.
A mix of natural, skier-triggered, and explosive-triggered storm or wind slab avalanches have been reported over the last 5 days. Avalanches were sized 1 to 2, generally all in the upper 40 cm of snow and on various aspects and elevations.
Snowpack Summary
The upper snowpack continues to settle and bond. Moist snow surfaces exist below treeline.
Below the recent snow accumulations, down roughly 30 to 50 cm, is a layer of old wind-affected surfaces and weak faceted grains.
Currently, the mid and lower snowpack is generally well-bonded, featuring a thick crust near its base.
Weather Summary
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with 0 to 8 cm of snow, southwest winds 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy with a trace of new snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.
Friday
Cloudy with a trace of new snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.
Saturday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature 0 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Make conservative terrain choices and avoid overhead hazard.
- Avoid steep convex slopes.
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
The recent snow is overlying a layer of weak, sugary facets and in spots, surface hoar. It's taking longer than usual to heal and needs more time.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2