Yukon

Soft new snow and light wind are a marriage made in heaven that doesn't come around too often up here.

The troublesome past baggage of buried wind slab may hide beneath this beautiful gift.

High

• The snowpack structure is well understood.

A rider-triggered size 1.5 wind slab occurred Tuesday on north-facing terrain. No other recent avalanches have been observed.

Observations are limited, so be sure to post yours to the MIN if you get out!

Up to 10 cm of new snow sits over a wind-affected snowpack from strong southerly winds on Wednesday night.

A widespread early-February melt-freeze crust, buried by roughly 20 cm of recent snow, is present at treeline but absent in the alpine.

The January 26th crust is 30 to 70 cm deep. Surface hoar may persist above, on north through east, wind-sheltered slopes. The snow overlying this layer is generally well-settled and thick, making triggering unlikely.

Weak facets or depth hoar exist at the bottom of the snowpack. And could be a concern in shallow areas.

More details from the AvCan Field Team on the White Pass conditions here.

Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.

Monday
Mostly sunny. 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -16 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avoid areas where the snow feels stiff and/or slabby.
• Choose low-angled, sheltered terrain where new snow hasn't been wind-affected.
• Avoid shallow, rocky areas where the snowpack transitions from thick to thin.