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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Mar 10th, 2022–Mar 11th, 2022

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

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Use extra caution in the northern part of the region where triggering a persistent slab avalanche is more likely.

Confidence

Moderate - Uncertainty is due to the complexity of the snowpack’s structure.

Weather Forecast

Thursday night: no new snow expected. Light westerly winds and a low of -9 at 1500m.

Friday: cloudy with up to 5cm of new snow. Moderate west wind. High of -3 at 1500m. 

Saturday: cloudy with up to 10cm of new snow. Moderate southerly winds and freezing levels rising to 1600m.

Sunday: stormy with up to 20mm of precipitation and moderate southwest winds. Freezing levels rising to 1700m.

Avalanche Summary

ON Wednesday one size one storm slab avalanche was reported. This avalanche was triggered on a steep roll at treeline on a northwest aspect. Loose dry avalanches to size 1.5 were reported throughout the region.

No rider triggered avalanches were reported on Monday or Tuesday.

Snowpack Summary

Recent variable winds have redistributed up to 15cm of storm snow into wind slabs in exposed terrain. In the southern half of the region this overlies a thick and supportive crust at all aspects and elevations.

A new surface hoar layer has just been buried. It is not yet a concern.

The late February layer sits 20-50 cm deep. It consists of surface hoar crystals in shady, wind-sheltered areas around treeline and a crust on solar aspects. This layer was reactive to human triggers over the weekend in areas where it was not bridged by the above-mentioned crust.

Weak layers from mid-February and late January made up of crusts and/or surface hoar crystals can be found around 60+ cm and 100+ cm deep, respectively. 

Terrain and Travel

  • Be careful with wind loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and roll-overs.
  • Avoid steep convexities or areas with a thin, rocky, or variable snowpack.
  • Be aware of the potential for large avalanches due to the presence of buried persistent weak layers.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.