Avalanche Forecast
Regions: Birkenhead, Duffey, Homathko, Sea To Sky, South Chilcotin, South Coast Inland, Spearhead, Stein, Taseko.
Storm slabs sit over a weak layer and are easily triggerable by riders. Stick to simple, low angle terrain and avoid overhead hazard.
Confidence
Moderate
Avalanche Summary
On Friday and Saturday, natural and rider-triggered storm slab avalanches were reported size 1-1.5 on a variety of aspects at upper elevations. On Saturday, explosive control work produced results up to size 2 near Pemberton and size 2.5 near Whistler.
Snowpack Summary
Light snowfall continues. 20 to 40 cm of new snow has accumulated since Thursday night. Near ridgetops, moderate to strong southwest wind has loaded new snow into leeward terrain features. The new snow is not bonding well to underlying layers including a hard crust, facets and/or surface hoar.
The mid and lower snowpack is well-settled and dense with no other layers of concern.
Weather Summary
Saturday night
Cloudy with 1 to 5 cm of snow. 10 to 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind switching northwest. Treeline temperature -12 °C.
Sunday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 10 to 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -15 °C.
Monday
A mix of sun and cloud. 10 to 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -17 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 10 to 15 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures -16 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Terrain and Travel Advice
- Keep your guard up as storm slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering.
- Use conservative route selection. Choose simple, low angle terrain with no overhead hazard.
- Closely monitor how the new snow is bonding to the old surface.
Avalanche Problems
Storm Slabs
Fresh storm slabs sit over a weak layer and will likely remain reactive through the weekend.
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood: Likely
Expected Size: 1 - 2