Kootenay Boundary

As you climb above the rain crust, start thinking about possible storm slabs.
Lee areas are best avoided.

A few small storm slabs were triggered on Saturday. They ran on the new crust that's just below the surface.

The snowline seems to have been around 2000 m on Monday. Where it snowed, 10 to 15 cm has buried a widespread melt–freeze crust. Beneath this crust, the snow remains moist due to the recent warm and wet weather. Some alpine areas may remain crust-free, while treeline and down is likely rain soaked with a new crust on top.

A mid-November crust, with facets or surface hoar above it, is now buried 50 to 100 cm deep.

The lower snowpack is generally well settled and bonded.

Snowpack depth at treeline ranges from roughly 90 to 160 cm.

Monday Night
Partly cloudy with 2 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with 25 to 35 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C. Freezing level 1300 m.

Thursday
Mostly cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid freshly wind-loaded terrain features.
• Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
• Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.