Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Nov 27th, 2015–Nov 28th, 2015

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Alpine

Below Threshold.

Treeline

Below Threshold.

Below Treeline

Below Threshold.

Regions

Kootenay Boundary.

Warming forecast for the next few days will increase the Avalanche Danger, especially at higher elevations. Special thanks to the folks in Nelson and Kootenay Pass for their awesome MIN reports. You rock!

Weather Forecast

The dry ridge of high pressure will continue to bring clear skies and valley fog to the region until at least Monday. Above 1800m, temperatures could reach 5.0' celsius while below-freezing temperatures will persist in the valleys. Ridgetop winds should remain mainly light from the northeast.

Avalanche Summary

No new avalanches have been reported. With warming forecast for the next few days, I expect a round of loose wet avalanche activity on steep, sun-exposed slopes .

Snowpack Summary

At treeline elevations, the snowpack appears to typically be 1-1.5m deep. Current snow surfaces likely include a mix of stubborn wind slabs in exposed terrain, loose faceted snow in sheltered areas and (depending on the time of day) moist snow or a re-frozen crust on steep solar aspects. There is a thick crust from early-November in the middle of the snowpack. The limited reports we have received suggest that this crust is well bonded but you should investigate the snowpack in your local area before committing yourself to avalanche terrain.

Problems

Loose Wet

Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.

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.