Avalanche Forecast

On Wednesday, several natural wet loose avalanches were reported to size 1.5 on steep solar aspects.

On Tuesday, a size 1 skier remote wind slab avalanche was reported in the Whistler area at 1650 m on a north aspect. The bed surface of the avalanche was a crust down 30 cm. Check out the great MIN report for details.

Please continue to share any observations or photos on the Mountain Information Network.

A melt-freeze crust covers 20-40 cm of settling snow on solar slopes in the alpine. On sheltered polar slopes in the alpine, a crust has formed and should break down once the incoming cold weather gets a chance to work on it. Both of these crusts can be found from 2200 m to 1000 m in elevation.

A thick crust from mid-January can be found down 40-70 cm deep. A number of weak layers exist within the mid and lower snowpack but the thick crusts sitting above them make triggering avalanches on these layers unlikely.

The areas of concern in terms of triggering a deeper layer are shallow rocky areas.

Friday Night

A mix of clouds with periods of clearing and trace amounts of precipitation. Northeast ridgetop winds 20 km/h gusting to 40 km/h. Alpine temperature -8 °C. Freezing levels 500 m.

Saturday 

Sunny and clear. Northeast ridgetop winds 30 km/h. Alpine temperature -15 °C. Freezing level 500 m dropping to 0 m. 

Sunny and clear. Northwest ridgetop winds 25 km/h gusting to 60 km/h. Alpine temperature -20 °C. Freezing levels 0 m. 

Sunny and clear. Northwest ridgetop winds 25 km/h gusting to 40 km/h. Alpine temperature -16 °C. Freezing levels 0 m. 

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Carefully evaluate steep lines for wind slabs.
• A crust on the surface will help bind the snow together, but may make for tough travel conditions.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.