Avalanche Forecast

High -

SUNDAY: Mostly sunny. Ridge wind light, northeast. Temperature -8. Freezing level valley bottom.MONDAY: Sunny. Ridge wind light, northwest. Temperature --5. Freezing level 800 m. Alpine inversion.TUESDAY: Mostly cloudy, flurries. Accumulation up to 5 cm. Ridge wind moderate, southwest. Temperature -2. Freezing level 800 m. Alpine Inversion.

Saturday a skier triggered a a size 1.5 wind slab release from a cross-loaded feature on a northwest aspect at 1900 m, near Whistler.On Friday, evidence of a natural cycle which likely occurred near the end of the warming period earlier in the week was reported, with storm slab activity up to size 3 observed on north to east aspects in the Mt Currie area.On Thursday, avalanche control with explosives triggered numerous slab avalanches up to size 2. Cornice releases triggered wind slabs from the slopes below up to size 1.5. With colder temperatures expected this weekend, natural avalanche activity will likely taper off, but human triggering will be possible especially on leeward and cross-loaded slopes.

Snow surfaces vary from aspect to elevation showing crusts, wind pressed and scoured conditions. In the alpine 5-15 cm of recent snow, accompanied by strong winds from the southeast have formed reactive wind slabs up to 30 cm thick in leeward terrain, while wind-protected areas still hold unconsolidated, cold snow. At treeline and below treeline elevations a melt-freeze crust has formed up to 1900 m.On average 180 cm of settled snow now sits on the mid-January crust which generally shows signs of bonding to the overlying snow; however, it has the potential to "wake-up" with a large trigger such as a cornice fall. Below this, the snowpack is thought to be generally strong and well-settled.