Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Winter travel is rugged at this time! For those that make it to the alpine, watch for wind slabs, and tell us what you see by submitting to the MIN!
Confidence
Low - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Friday night: Dry and partly cloudy.Saturday: Dry, with a good amount of low-level cloud. Light southwesterly winds. Freezing level around 800 m.Sunday: Dry, with a mix of sun and cloud. Light southerly winds. Freezing level around 800 m.Monday: Light snow with 2-4 cm expected. Ridgetop winds southwesterly up to 35 km/h. Freezing level rising to around 1200 m.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches reported.
Snowpack Summary
Alpine snow depths in the region are around 60 cm. 10-20 cm of recent storm snow overlies a layer of surface hoar that was buried on November 21. This layer is expected to be variable in nature and may have been melted into a crust on southern aspects.
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.