Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bonnington, Crawford, Grohman, Kokanee, Kootenay Boundary, Kootenay Pass, Moyie, Norns, Retallack, Rossland, South Okanagan, St. Mary, Valhalla, Ymir.
Wind slabs, formed by northerly winds, can be found on lee features in the alpine and may not bond well to a recently formed crust. Use caution as you transition into wind-affected areas.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported.
Isolated wind slabs may be possible to human-trigger. The most likely terrain is directly lee of high spots and ridge features.
Even short windows of sun may be enough to develop moist surface snow that may produce wet loose avalanche activity.
Snowpack Summary
Roughly 20 cm of new snow has accumulated over a melt-freeze crust on all aspects and elevations. A second crust formed in late March can also be found in the upper snowpack at variable depths depending on aspect and elevation.
A persistent weak layer of facets sits on top of a second buried crust down 80 to 180 cm. This layer is unlikely to be human-triggered in areas where a thick crust above the weak layer is present.
Weather Summary
Saturday Night
Cloudy with flurries, 6 to 8 cm. 20 to 25 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4° C
Sunday
Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, 1 to 2 cm. 15 to 20 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2° C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Monday
Mostly clear skies, increasing cloud overnight with flurries 2 to 5 cm, 20 to 30 km/h southwest wind. Treeline temperature -2° C. Freezing level 1900 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with scattered flurries tapering in the afternoon, 2 to 4 cm. 30 to 40 km/h southwest wind. Treeline temperature 0° C. Freezing level 2000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Wind slabs may be poorly bonded to the underlying crust.
- Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
Avalanche Problems
Wind Slabs
New snow and variable winds have built wind slabs in immediate lee features in the alpine.
Aspects: East, South East, South, South West, West.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood: Unlikely
Expected Size: 1 - 1.5