Kootenay Boundary

Wind slabs at upper elevations are the main concern with the best quality snow up high on north aspects. 

TUESDAY Night: Cloudy with clear periods, light to moderate west and northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.

WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with flurries and 5-10 cm of new snow, moderate southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -4 C, freezing level 1300 m.

THURSDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, light northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -3 C, freezing level 1500 m.

FRIDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate west and northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -2 C, freezing level 1700 m.

Reports from Monday suggest the new snow formed some thin reactive slabs, with a few size 1.5 natural storm slab avalanches reported, as well as a few explosive controlled storm slab avalanches size 1.5 to 2. There were several skier triggered size 1.5 to 2 storm slab avalanches late in the afternoon on Monday in the Whitewater backcountry. These were on west, north and northwest aspects at treeline. This MIN on Monday outlines the reactivity of the new snow nicely.

Flurries over the past several days have delivered 15-30 cm of snow. This snow has generally been stable, but there could still be some wind slabs at higher elevations. This snow sits above a widespread crust, with the exception of high north-facing terrain. A persistent weak layer from late January is buried 80 to 150 cm deep, but is unlikely to trigger as the last reported avalanche on this layer was in late February.

• Be careful with wind slabs, especially in steep, unsupported and/or convex terrain features.
• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation and sun exposure.
• Back off if you encounter whumpfing, hollow sounds, or shooting cracks.