Avalanche forecast

Kootenay Boundary

Dec 9 – 10, 2013Avalanche Canada
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Avalanche danger

Wed
Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
1 · Low
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Highlights

Avalanche problems

  • Wind Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–3
    Northeast winds redistributed the snow from last week forming wind slabs in lee features at ridgeline and on cross-loaded slopes. Don't let wind slabs in unusual places catch you by surprise.

  • Persistent Slabs

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely - Possible
    Size
    2–4
    The recent cold temperatures have hindered the settlement of the upper snowpack into a cohesive slabs in most places. However, it would be wise to treat large open slopes with suspicion

Confidence

Fair - Due to the number of field observations

Weather Forecast

An arctic air mass is still sitting over much of BC however a series of fronts will start to drive the cold air out of the region through the week.  Tuesday will be mainly cloudy, cool and calm.  Wednesday will see light precipitation and light SW winds.  This looks like it will continue into Thursday before tapering off Friday.

Avalanche Summary

Small natural windslab avalanches have been observed at treeline and in the alpine around Nelson.

Snowpack Summary

The recent cold temperatures have driven faceting in the upper snowpack and surface hoar growth is being reported in some areas. The snow that fell last week is sitting above a buried weak layer of surface hoar found on north facing slopes and a crust on steep solar aspects. In many places the upper snowpack has not yet settled into a slab. However, in open areas this snow has be redistributed by the recent north to east winds forming windslabs at ridge-top and in cross loaded features. There are reports of a deeply buried early season crust that formed in October, this layer is more likely to be found in the high alpine on northerly aspects.

Regions covered