Sunshine doesn't mean stability! Santa brought a week of fresh snow that still needs time to settle.
A gift from me to you: the best and safest riding is in sheltered terrain 🎄🎁
A November crust/facet layer exists deep in the snowpack. Conditions have lent well to cleaning out and stabilizing the problem, but it may still be possible to trigger, particularly in thin-to-thick areas in the alpine.
Recently formed storm slabs are expected to remain reactive to rider-triggering, especially in wind-loaded terrain.
Last Sunday, a snowcat in the Whistler area triggered a size 2 persistent slab on a northwest aspect in the alpine.
On Tuesday, near Whistler, skiers and explosives were able to trigger size 1 to 2 storm slabs in the alpine and treeline. One notable result stepped down to the mid-December crust.
Looking forward to Thursday, the recent storm snow still needs time to stabilize. Wind-loaded terrain at upper elevations will be the prime suspect for human-triggered avalanches.
20 to 30 cm of recent storm snow overlies roughly 150 cm of new snow in the past week. Strong southerly wind has left a variety of surfaces - wind slabs and loaded pockets in lee features, scoured rock in open terrain, and storm slabs and softer snow in sheltered areas.
This week's storm snow buries a melt-freeze crust that exists at 2200 m and below. The depth of this crust is highly variable due to extensive recent wind transport.
A crust with facets, formed in mid-November, is buried an estimated 80 to 150 cm deep. With limited observations, especially in the alpine (which did not have the same mid-pack crust development), we're not ready to rule out this layer of concern quite yet.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 4 cm of snow. 10 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.
Thursday
Mostly sunny. 10 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
Friday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 10 cm of snow. 10 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Saturday
Mostly sunny. 1 cm of snow. 10 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -11 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
