Avalanche forecast

Kootenay Boundary

Dec 28 – 29, 2014Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Tue
Wed
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Check out the Tricky Holiday Conditions blog post for more details on the current avalanche scenario.

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Light to moderate amounts of new snow fell on Saturday. Moderate winds may shift these accumulations into new wind slabs on exposed lee slopes. Watch for loose dry avalanches in steep, sheltered terrain.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    2–5
    A persistent weak layer, buried up to 70cm below the surface, was responsible for a few close calls over the past week. Conservative terrain selection remains critical.

Confidence

Good - The weather pattern is stable

Weather Forecast

A dry arctic ridge will dominate the region for the forecast period. Skies will be mainly clear for the period with ridge top temperatures hovering at about -20, and moderate northeasterly winds.

Avalanche Summary

We continue to get reports of skier-triggered, and remotely triggered slab avalanches. Avalanche activity has mostly been in the size 2 range, failing on the mid-December layers. This pattern is expected to persist for the foreseeable future.

Snowpack Summary

Up to 25cm of low density snow fell over the last few days. This new snow, which overlies recently formed surface hoar, may have been shifted into fresh wind slabs in high elevation terrain.  Up to 70 cm of snow from last week has consolidated into a slab above a touchy weak layer of surface hoar sitting on a thick rain crust. This widespread persistent layer continues to produce whumpfing and sudden snowpack tests, and will likely remain sensitive to human triggering for the foreseeable future. Although high elevation slopes may not have the rain crust, they are still reported to have touchy buried surface hoar. At the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet combo appears to have gone dormant for the time being.

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