Wind slabs and Cornices are still on the radar.
Confidence
Fair - Wind effect is extremely variable
Weather Forecast
Precipitation should taper off late today ( Saturday) and give the Sea to Sky region a somewhat sunny Sunday. Small amounts of precipitations will return on Sunday and Monday but will not produce much moisture. Freezing level for Sunday and Monday will be close to 1000m, then begin to rise early in the new week.
Avalanche Summary
Reports from yesterday tell of a few size 1 storm slab, wind slab and loose-wet avalanches.
Snowpack Summary
Melt-freeze crusts can be found on solar aspects in the alpine, and on all aspects at lower elevations. Old wind slabs and surface facets may still still exist on high north facing slopes. The snowpack is generally strong and well settled. Cornices may become weak with daytime warming. and incoming precipitation will develop wind slabs on lee slopes.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.