Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Thursday
Weather Forecast
Wednesday: A mix of sun and cloud with no precipitation expected. Freezing levels in valley bottoms and moderate NW ridge top winds. Thursday: Cloud with light snow bringing around 5cm of accumulation. Strong westerly alpine winds and freezing levels as high as 1400m. Friday: Light snow with another 2-5cm of accumulation, moderate NW winds and freezing levels in valley bottoms.
Avalanche Summary
Reports from Monday are limited to small pockets of wind slab reacting to ski cuts on leeward features at ridgetop, and sluffing in steep terrain. Several whummpfs were also observed during regroups at approximately 1700m.
Snowpack Summary
Continued light amounts of snow accumulation brings recent totals to 10-20cm over surface hoar buried during Christmas. A little deeper (between 40 - 60 cm below the surface) you may find a weak layer of surface hoar on sheltered slopes or a crust/facet combo on steep solar aspects. As the load gradually increases and stiffens over top of these layers, they'll likely become more reactive. Overall the midpack is well settled and reasonably strong; however, thin and variable snowpack areas are faceted and weak. In general, snowpack depths are below seasonal average with many slopes below treeline still reported to be below threshold for avalanche activity, but a deeper snowpack is likely in the northern part of the region.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.