South Coast

The South Coast has been on Santa’s good list— a week of heavy snowfall has brought winter back to the coast!

A gift from me to you: the best and safest riding is in sheltered terrain 🎄🎁

High

• We have a good understanding of the snowpack structure and confidence in the weather forecast

Observations have been limited due to stormy conditions in the past week.

Looking forward to Thursday, wind-loaded terrain at upper elevations will be the prime suspect for human-triggered avalanches.

20 cm of recent storm snow at upper elevations overlies roughly 100 to 150 cm of settled storm snow from the past week.

Beneath the recent snowfall, the snowpack is generally well-settled, consisting of crusts and moist, dense snow. Snow depths at the treeline are estimated to range from 90 to 160 cm.

Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 4 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 1000 m.

Thursday
Mix of sun and clouds. 10 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature rising to 0 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 10 to 20 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 15 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Start on smaller terrain features and gather information before committing to bigger terrain.
• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
• Use extra caution around cornices: they are large, fragile, and can trigger slabs on slopes below.