Avalanche forecast

Kootenay Boundary

Mar 24 – 25, 2014Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
3 · Considerable
Below
3 · Considerable
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Storm Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Likely
    Size
    1–3
    This problem could become more sensitive to triggering if temperatures rise as forecast on Tuesday. Be particularly cautious in wind loaded and cross-loaded terrain. 

  • Deep Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    2–5
    The deeply buried weak layers still show "sudden" results in snowpack tests. Triggers for large avalanches on these layers include cornice falls, solar warming, or hitting the wrong place in a thin snowpack area.

Confidence

Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain on Tuesday

Weather Forecast

Tuesday: Mainly cloudy with showers or flurries – 5-10 cm. The freezing level should climb to around 2000 m (or a little higher). Ridge winds are light to moderate from the SW.  Wednesday: Cloudy with flurries – 5-10 cm. The freezing level is around 1500 m and ridge winds are light to moderate from the W-SW. Thursday: Cloudy with flurries. The freezing level is around 1400 m and ridge winds are light.

Avalanche Summary

Avalanche activity on the weekend was primarily reported as loose snow sluffing in steep terrain and a few rider triggered slab avalanches involving the recent storm snow. None of the recent activity has stepped down to deeper persistent weaknesses.

Snowpack Summary

5 - 10 cm of convective snowfall from Saturday night brings snow totals from the last week to 25 - 50cm of light density snow. This makes for 55 - 80cm on top of the March 10th crust. This crust is widespread to 2000m across the region, perhaps even higher on solar aspects. There are reports of the crust being as thick as 15cm in the south of the region, but it varies in thickness and supportability. As you head north in the region where the mountains are higher (and temperatures were colder when the crust was forming), this crust is less likely to exist. If you're heading to the north or the region, it's worth checking out the South Columbia bulletin too.A facet/crust persistent weakness buried at the beginning of February, now down 70 - 200cm, has been highly variable in terms of reactivity but still shows 'sudden' results in some snowpack tests. In areas where the strong and supportive near surface crust exists, triggering this layer has become unlikely. That said, this layer is still difficult to trust and any avalanche at these deeper, persistent interfaces would be large and destructive.

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