Avalanche warnings on the rise with new snowfall
By Boundary Sentinel
Avalanche advisories recommend backcountry travellers be cautious over the next few days as very touchy conditions have been observed, with avalanches failing easily on a buried layer in the upper snowpack. Winds have created snow slabs over top of surface hoar causing the Canadian Avalanche Centre to predict high to considerable avalanche danger in the Kootenay Boundary areas . A natural and skier-triggered avalanche cycle with slabs up to size two was observed over the last couple of day, said the Centre in a bulletin. These avalanches were failing on the mid-December surface hoar on north through east aspects from 1700 metres to the peaks. Wind loading from the south-west overnight Sunday led to naturally-triggered wind-slabs on lee slopes on Monday morning. Touchy conditions are likely to continue through the forecast period. Travel Advisory
- Be cautious as you transition into wind affected terrain;
- Avoid open slopes and convex rolls at and below tree line where buried surface hoar may be preserved;
- Carefully evaluate big terrain features by digging and testing on adjacent, safe slopes;
- Be cautious of sluffing in steep terrain.
Snowpack
Up to 20 centimetres of new snow has been redistributed by south-west winds into touchy wind-slabs on lee slopes. A buried surface hoar layer from mid-December around 30 centimetres down is now highly reactive. It is well-preserved with 10-15 millimetre crystals and is most reactive well below ridges in protected terrain. The mid-pack is generally well settled. Facets exist at the base of the snowpack.
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