Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bonnington, Crawford, Grohman, Kokanee, Kootenay Boundary, Kootenay Pass, Moyie, Norns, Retallack, Rossland, South Okanagan, St. Mary, Ymir.
The recent snow may require more time to stabilize and bond to underlying surfaces before venturing into bigger terrain.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
A mix of natural, skier-triggered, and explosive-triggered storm or wind slab avalanches have been reported over the last 4 days. Avalanches were sized 1 to 2, generally all in the upper 40 cm of snow and on various aspects and elevations.
This MIN report describes a size 1 avalanche at treeline that is fairly consistent with other reports.
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
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 20 km/h, treeline temperature -4 °C.
Wednesday
Cloudy with 0 to 8 cm of snow, southwest winds 20 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -5 °C.
Friday
Cloudy with trace snow amounts, southwest alpine winds 10 to 30 km/h, treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
- Be carefull around freshly wind loaded features.
- Avoid steep convex slopes.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
The recent snow is overlying a layer of old wind-affected surfaces and weak faceted grains and is taking longer than usual to bond to the snowpack.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Possible
Expected Size: 1 - 2