Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bonnington, Crawford, Grohman, Kootenay Boundary, Kootenay Pass, Moyie, Norns, Rossland, St. Mary, Ymir.
Conditions are generally safe, it's a good time to explore bigger terrain.
Continue to use normal caution on committing slopes, and only expose one person at a time to avalanche terrain.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
On Wednesday, several small (size 1) human and solar-triggered natural avalanches were reported out of steep south-facing terrain.
Snowpack Summary
A few sun crusts can be found on the surface and in the upper snowpack on steep south-facing slopes. 10-15 cm of settling snow covers the early January surface hoar (5-10 mm) layer in sheltered terrain. This interface may be deeper on wind-loaded slopes.
A previous weak layer from early December (surface hoar or facet/crust combo) is found 50 to 120 cm deep, but snowpack tests and lack of recent activity suggest it's no longer a concern.
The lower snowpack is generally strong and bonded.
Weather Summary
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 30 to 40 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Saturday
Partly cloudy with 0 to 1 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -13 °C.
Sunday
Mostly sunny. 20 to 30 km/h northeast wind. Treeline temperature -14 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- This is a good time for exploring terrain.
- The snowpack is generally stable; it may be appropriate to step out into more complex terrain.