Avalanche forecast

Kootenay Boundary

Feb 12 – 13, 2015Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Sat
Sun
Alpine
3 · Considerable
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Highlights

Warm temperatures and sunny breaks are on the menu for Friday. Use caution in steep open terrain and around large overhanging cornices.

Avalanche problems

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    3–6
    A couple of notable persistent weak layers, buried 60-120 cm deep, remain a concern for human triggering, especially in the alpine.

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible - Likely
    Size
    1–3
    Loose wet and wet slab avalanches remain a concern at lower elevations where rain has saturated the snowpack.

Weather Forecast

Friday: Cloudy with sunny breaks. The freezing level is between 2500-3000 m. Ridge winds are light to moderate from the west. Saturday: Cloudy with possible light snow. The freezing level lowers to around 1800-2000 m. Winds are generally light from the W-NW. Sunday: Cloudy with light snow and occasional sunny breaks. The freezing level is around 1400-1500 m.

Avalanche Summary

Only one size 1 skier controlled avalanche on a steep convex roll was reported on Wednesday. Reports from Tuesday include evidence of old natural slab avalanches up to Size 2.5. Heavy triggers such as explosives and snowcats were able to trigger 20-90 cm deep storm slabs up to Size 2, but no new naturals were observed and ski-cutting was ineffective.

Confidence

Fair

Snowpack Summary

The rain line during recent heavy precipitation generally hovered around 1700m, although there were periods where rain fell into the alpine. Above that elevation, heavy accumulations of moist, dense snow have been pushed by strong southwest winds into cornices and deeper deposits on the lee side of ridgecrests and terrain breaks. Recent storm snow is poorly bonded to a hard crust, which may have overlying surface hoar, that was buried late January. The mid-December crust/facet/surface hoar weakness may be persisting in the mid to lower snowpack at higher elevations.

Regions covered