South Coast

Stormy conditions on Thursday night will increase avalanche danger for Friday. Travel conservatively and give the snowpack a bit of time to settle.

Storm snow from earlier this week was reactive to human traffic (e.g., as seen here during Tuesday's storm). We expect that similar avalanches could be triggered by riders on Friday within the latest storm snow from Thursday night. Best to give the snowpack a bit of time to settle and bond before committing to consequential terrain.

Avoiding cornice exposure is also a good idea, as they are very large and looming at this time of year.

20 to 30 cm of storm snow is forecast to accumulate by Friday morning, forming new storm slabs. This adds to the 100 cm of snow that accumulated since the weekend. The snow is forecast to fall with strong southerly wind, meaning deeper and touchier deposits may be found in lee terrain features in wind-exposed terrain.

The remainder of the snowpack is strong and well-bonded.

Cornices are large and looming at this time of year.

Thursday Night

Cloudy with snowfall, accumulation 20 cm, 30 to 60 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -3 °C, freezing level 1000 m.

Friday

Cloudy with light snowfall, accumulation 2 to 5 cm, 10 km/h south wind, treeline temperature -1 °C, freezing level 1200 m.

Cloudy with light snow or rain, accumulation 1 to 3 cm, 10 to 30 km/h south wind, treeline temperature 0 °C, freezing level 1100 m rising to 1900 m.

Cloudy with rain or snow, accumulation 20 cm above the rain-snow line, 20 to 40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperature 3 °C, freezing level 1900 m dropping to 1200 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Keep your guard up at lower elevations. Storms slabs have been reactive at all elevations.
• Choose relatively conservative lines and watch for clues of instability.
• Avoid terrain traps where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.
• Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.