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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Feb 21st, 2024–Feb 22nd, 2024

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary, Bonnington, Grohman, Kootenay Pass, Norns, Rossland, Ymir, Crawford, Moyie, St. Mary, Goat, Kokanee, Retallack, Valhalla, Whatshan.

Heightened avalanche conditions exist in areas where new snow is overlying buried weak layers.

Evaluate slopes individually before committing to the terrain.

Confidence

Moderate

Avalanche Summary

On Tuesday several small skier-controlled avalanches were reported near Castlegar.

The new storm snow may be reactive to rider triggering for a few more days.

Snowpack Summary

5 to 17 cm of recently fallen snow overlies previous wind wind-affected, or crusty surfaces.

Around Nelson, Kootenay Pass, and in the Valhallas, small surface hoar may be buried 15-25 cm below the snow surface.

A persistent weak layer of facets may be overlying a thick crust buried 30 to 50 cm.

The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled, with snowpack depths decreasing rapidly below 1000 m.

Weather Summary

Wednesday Night

Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm, 20 km/h south ridgetop wind, treeline temperature around -2 °C, freezing level dropping to 700 m.

Thursday

Cloudy with a 0 to 2 cm, 15 km/h west ridgetop wind, treeline temperature around 2 °C, freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Friday

Mostly cloudy with 0 to 4 cm of snow, 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, treeline temperature around 2 °C, freezing level rising to 1700 m.

Saturday

Cloudy with 0 to 2 cm of snow, 25 km/h west ridgetop wind, treeline temperature around 1 °C, freezing level rising to 1600 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

Terrain and Travel Advice

  • Expect slab conditions to change drastically as you move into wind exposed terrain.
  • Avoid steep, rocky, and wind effected areas where triggering slabs is more likely.
  • Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.

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.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.