Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Intense solar warming on alpine slopes may not be obvious if you're trapped within the valley cloud. Be aware of terrain above you.
Confidence
Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Saturday
Weather Forecast
The ridge of high pressure will continue to bring mainly clear skies, valley cloud and dry conditions for Saturday and Sunday morning. By late Sunday and into Monday there may be some increased upper level cloud, but no significant precipitation is expected. An inversion with above freezing alpine temperatures should persist until Sunday morning with more seasonal temperatures developing by Monday. Winds are forecast to be light and northerly.
Avalanche Summary
There have been no new reports of avalanche activity.
Snowpack Summary
A dusting of snow overlies a variety of surfaces which include hard, stubborn windslabs in exposed upper elevation terrain and well developed surface hoar at treeline and below. Sun-exposed slopes are seeing a daily melt-freeze cycle. Ongoing warm daytime temperatures have promoted settlement within the snowpack, while cool nights have allowed for significant surface faceting.Closer to the ground, below a generally strong and well settled mid pack, there are 2 layers of note: the late November surface hoar, and a crust/facet combo which formed in October. Both of these layers represent a low probability-high consequence scenario. That said, warming forecast for the next few days may be what it takes to bring these layers back to life. Other possible triggers include cornice fall or thin spot triggering on an unsupported slope in the alpine or at treeline.
Problems
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.