Regions
Kootenay Boundary.
Strong SW winds are expected to continue to form fresh sensitive wind slabs that will mainly be a problem in the alpine, but you may find the odd wind loaded feature at treeline too.
Confidence
Moderate - Wind speed and direction is uncertain
Weather Forecast
The South Coast is receiving an absolute lashing from two storms that are expected to impact the coast Sunday and then again Monday. A bit of that energy should trickle into the Mountains of the Kootenay Boundary. SUNDAY: Continued strong SW winds, 2 to 10cm of snow, freezing level topping out at 500m. MONDAY: Moderate SW winds, 1 to 2cm of snow, freezing level around 500m. TUESDAY: Moderate SW winds, 2 to 8cm of snow, freezing level around 500m. For more detailed mountain weather information visit: avalanche.ca/weather
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches to report from Thursday or Friday.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 30cm of new snow now covers the mid-December surface hoar. This surface hoar can be found on all aspects in protected areas. Moderate winds out of the S/SW have recently formed fresh wind slabs on lee features. A few different crusts can be found in the upper meter of the snowpack as high as 2400m. At tree-line elevation the December 8th crust is thick and supportive, and may be capping deeper weaknesses.
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.