Kootenay Boundary

Assess for unstable snow on isolated terrain features and practice good travel habits.

FRIDAY NIGHT: Clear skies with no precipitation, 20 km/h southwest wind, alpine temperature -5 C.

SATURDAY: Partly cloudy with no precipitation, 20 km/h southwest wind, alpine temperature -4 C.

SUNDAY: Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 5 to 10 cm, 30 km/h southwest wind, alpine temperature -6 C.

MONDAY: Early-morning snowfall then clearing, accumulation 10 to 20 cm, 20 km/h northwest wind, alpine temperature -10 C.

No new avalanches were reported on Thursday. A few small (size 1) skier triggered slab avalanches were reported north of Nelson on Wednesday, which failed on a 20 cm deep surface hoar layer on north and east aspects but were only 5 m wide.

Surface hoar crystals are found on the snow surface in sheltered areas and a melt-freeze crust on solar aspects. These will become important layers to track once buried by new snow. 

There are several other crust and surface hoar layers buried 20-40 cm deep. These layers have shown variable results in snowpack tests and in many areas do not currently present as a problem. At this point they could produce isolated small avalanches like the ones described in the Avalanche Summary. 

A crust and facet layer near the bottom of the snowpack (100 to 200 cm deep) has been responsible for sporadic avalanche activity since early December, but is not a concern under the current weather conditions. 

• Use caution when approaching steep and rocky terrian.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
• Carefully evaluate bigger terrain features on an individual basis before committing to them.