Kootenay Pass

Quick report

Weather

cloudy, cold, stormy, windy, foggy

Ride Type

openTrees, alpineSlopes, steepSlopes

Stayed Away

convexSlopes

Riding Quality

good

Snow Conditions

windAffected, powder

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSnow

Junuary or is it February? Weather wise, it has been a strange month in the mountains, so far. Rain, fog, strong wind, some new snow and intense cold. Wolf Ridge was good skiing on Saturday and Sunday but just barely. The rain crust from early February was still audible under that 15-20 centimeters of new snow on Saturday. On Sunday, one had to choose an aspect of the pass that wasn't wind scoured from that nasty northwesterly! I encountered good snow stability, considering the wind strength and fact that I was skiing the leeward aspect of Wolf's, with the exception of one cross loaded convexity that slide.

Avalanche

Run Length

25

Slab Width

10

Trigger Type

skier

Wind Exposure

crossLoadedSlope

Avalanche Size

1

Slab Thickness

20

Trigger Sub Type

accidental

Start Zone Aspect

S

Vegetation Cover

sparseTrees

Avalanche Character

windSlab

Number Of Avalanches

1

Avalanche Observation

12to24hrsAgo

Start Zone Elevation Band

tln

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2020-02-09T12:05:00