Visibility and flat light might get between you and your goals as the clouds roll in, but don't let it mess with your cornice avoidance!
Large cornices still loom over many ridgelines and they won't hang on forever. Be aware of these overhead hazards and stay well back from overhanging cornices on ridgelines.
Avalanche activity through the week has been on a diminishing trend, with smaller wet loose releases in solar terrain accounting for most activity. A couple other notables from the week included:
-A very large cornice (size 3) knocked out with a hefty amount of explosives during control work in the Whistler area on Friday.
-A cornice-triggered slab avalanche, size 3, seen from a distance on Overlord Mountain on Wednesday. It happened on a northwest aspect at 2400 m.
Increasing cloud cover and scattered light rain will work against crust recovery on Sunday, likely keeping the snowpack near an isothermal state below about 2000 m. A sprinkling of rain may finally reach some of the 10 - 20 cm of windblown dry snow hiding on the region's higher north-facing slopes, but perhaps not mountaintop.
A crust/facet layer from late March sits 20 to 80 cm deep and another thick crust sits 80-100 cm deep. Near Whistler, some facets have been reported around the deeper crust. Neither layer is an avalanche problem right now, but they perhaps give cornices from high north aspects a slim chance of triggering a slab, like the one observed on Overlord Mountain on Wednesday.
Saturday Night
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 km/h north ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.
Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud with isolated showers, 1 mm. 10 to 15 km/h southwest ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline high temperature 3 °C. Freezing level to 2200 m.
Monday
Mostly cloudy with scattered showers, 2 to 4 mm, and a trace of alpine snow. 20 to 30 km/h west ridgetop wind, increasing. Treeline high temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy with increasing snowfall bringing 20 to 35 cm of new snow above 1200 m, heavy rain below. 50 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high temperature -2 °C. Freezing level to 1400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
