Sea To Sky

Assess steep north facing slopes for wind slab before committing.

Dry snow can still be found on high north facing terrain, but this is also where avalanche hazard is present.

Moderate

• We are uncertain due to the variability of wind effect on the snowpack.

On Wednesday several small wind slab and dry loose avalanches were triggered by skiers in steep terrain. One skier triggered storm slab propagated wider than expected, this avalanche occurred at 1500 m.

Also on Wednesday a couple explosive controlled cornice falls were reported. These cornices did not trigger a slab on the slope below.

5 to 10 cm of storm snow with moderate southwest wind is expected by Friday afternoon. This new snow will overlie a thin crust on steep southerly slopes and all aspects below 1900 m. Dry, soft  snow is easily found on north aspects.

The early February crust/facet layer is down 15 to 40 cm.

A widespread crust and facet layer from late January is buried 40 to 80 cm deep.

The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong.

Thursday Night
Cloudy. 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Friday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 5 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Sunday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Be careful with wind-loaded pockets, especially near ridge crests and rollovers.
• Be alert to conditions that change with elevation, aspect, and exposure to wind.
• Pay attention to cornices and give them a wide berth when traveling on or below ridges.