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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Jan 25th, 2020–Jan 26th, 2020

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Recent winds have promoted wind slab development at upper elevations, use caution around wind loaded features and deep deposits of fresh snow.

Confidence

Moderate - The number, quality, or consistency of field observations is good, and supports our confidence.

Weather Forecast

SATURDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with isolated flurries. Alpine low temperature -2 C. South wind 20-30 km/hr. Freezing level 1200 m.

SUNDAY: Flurries, 5-10 cm. Alpine temperature -2 C. Southwest wind 20-40 km/hr. Freezing level 1500 m.

MONDAY: Flurries, up to 10 cm. Alpine temperature -5 C. Southwest wind 20-35 km/hr. Freezing level 1100 m.

TUESDAY: Flurries and snow, 10-20 cm. Alpine temperature -3 C. Southwest wind 20-40 km/hr. Freezing level 1400 m.

Avalanche Summary

On Friday, storm slab avalanches up to size 2 were triggered by explosives, skiers, and failed naturally. 

On Thursday, skiers triggered size 1-2 storm slab avalanches including this MIN report of a skier triggered avalanche at Kootenay Pass. This avalanche was triggered on a south aspect at treeline and ran for a long distance above the recently buried crust. Several loose wet avalanches were reported on southerly aspects below 2000 m.

No persistent slab avalanches have been observed since January 14, suggesting deep weak layers have become difficult to trigger under the current conditions.

Snowpack Summary

20-40 cm of snow over the past few days has settled with warm temperatures and been impacted by southwesterly winds.This new snow overlies a couple of crust layers that formed between January 19-24, this is the interface recent storm snow avalanches failed on. With the recent warm temperatures, moist surface snow was reported up to 1700 m, a crust may form as temperatures cool.

We have been tracking two layers over the past month: a layer of surface hoar buried 80-120 cm below the surface and faceted crystals and crusts near the bottom of the snowpack in certain parts of the region (especially western areas such as the Rossland Range and Boundary region). Both of these layers have shown signs of being less reactive over the past 10 days.

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful as you transition into wind affected terrain.
  • Approach lee and cross-loaded slopes with caution.
  • Be alert to conditions that change with elevation.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.