Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Bonnington, Crawford, Grohman, Kokanee, Kootenay Boundary, Kootenay Pass, Moyie, Norns, Retallack, Rossland, South Okanagan, St. Mary, Valhalla, Ymir.
It's a great time to get out in the backcountry. Remember to practice good travel habits, always watch for signs of instability and assess conditions as you go.
Confidence
High
Avalanche Summary
A few natural loose wet avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported during the warm weather on Saturday.
On Thursday in the Kokanee area, a skier triggered a size 1.5 slab on the buried crust detailed in the snowpack summary. No other avalanches have been reported on this layer and the failure has not shown significant results in snowpack tests around the region.
Please consider sharing your observations on the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowpack Summary
A surface crust exists at elevations and aspects that saw above-zero temperatures and sun on Saturday.
The upper and mid snowpack contain a variety of crusts, elevation and aspect dependent. The most prominent is a thick, hard, widespread crust formed in early December, now buried 40 to 60 cm deep. Most notably, this crust effectively bridges an underlying weak layer of surface hoar. In most areas, the crust is well bonded to surrounding snow but recent observations indicate that facets may be developing on top of the crust in isolated areas.
Average snowpack depths at treeline are roughly 70 to 130 cm. Snow depths taper dramatically at lower elevations.
Weather Summary
Sunday night
Mostly cloudy with a trace of new snow, ridgetop wind 20-30 km/h west, treeline temperature -5 °C.
Monday
A mix of sun and cloud, ridgetop wind 20-30 km/h, treeline temperature -2 °C.
Tuesday
A mix of sun and cloud, ridgetop wind 20-30 km/h, treeline temperature -1 °C.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, ridgetop wind <20 km/h, treeline temperature -1 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Make observations and assess conditions continually as you travel.
- Watch for wind-loaded pockets especially around ridgecrest and in extreme terrain.
- Carefully evaluate bigger terrain features on an individual basis before committing to them.