Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
The recent snow may still be touchy to human traffic. Tread cautiously and keep a conservative mindset if you notice slab properties or see signs of snow instability.
Weather Forecast
MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy skies, freezing level below valley bottom.TUESDAY: Cloudy with light snowfall, accumulation trace to 5 cm, light to moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -8 C, freezing level below valley bottom.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 10 to 15 cm, light to moderate southwest winds, alpine temperature -4 C, freezing level below valley bottom.THURSDAY: Mostly clear skies, light northwest winds, alpine temperature 0 C, freezing level rising to 2200 m over the day.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, skiers triggered small (size 1) wind and storm slabs within the recent 10 to 20 cm of snow.
Snowpack Summary
Around 10 to 20 cm of recent snow fell with strong southwest winds. This snow fell onto a sun crust on south aspects and feathery surface hoar in sheltered and shaded areas at all elevation bands. The new snow may not bond well to these layers, particularly in areas where the new snow has slab properties, such as in wind-loaded terrain features.Below this, the snowpack is generally well-settled.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.