Wind Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 1–3
Moderate winds from the west and southwest have created new windslabs in the lee of terrain features.
Avalanche forecast
View on mapKootenay Boundary
Dec 26 – 27, 2013Avalanche Canada
Archived · expired 13 years ago
Avalanche danger
Sat
Sun
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
Highlights
Avalanche problems
Confidence
Fair - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Friday: Light flurries. Alpine temperatures -4. Moderate to strong southwesterly winds switching to northwest in the afternoon. Freezing level 1100mSaturday: Mainly dry with broken skies, winds moderate from the northwest and alpine temperatures -6.Sunday: Mainly dry with broken skies, alpine temperatures -7, winds light from the northwest.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanche activity to report.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 20 cm of recent new snow in the past 5 days and strong westerly have winds formed pockets of soft wind slab on lee slopes. A layer of surface hoar is buried 15-20 cm down, and has been reactive with the new snow, mainly causing loose dry sluffing from steeper terrain.A little deeper (between 35 - 50 cm below the surface) you may find a weak layer of surface hoar on sheltered slopes or a crust/facet combo on steep solar aspects. This layer is dormant, and there is not a deep enough overlying slab to create a significant hazard. That said I'd recommend keeping it on the radar, especially as the snow load above increases.In general, snowpack depths are below seasonal average with many slopes below treeline still reported to be below threshold for avalanche activity. A deeper snowpack is likely in the northern part of the region.