Avalanche Forecast

On Wednesday, small soft slabs and cornices were reactive to explosives and skiers in the alpine.

On Tuesday in the Whistler area, a few small, human-triggered wind slab avalanches were reported in the alpine, some of them running far on a hard surface underneath.

At the end of December, large and surprising avalanches were occurring late over a crust down 50-100 cm, but this layer seems to be bonding, and no related avalanches have been reported in the new year.

10-30 cm of fresh and recent snow covers a crust that formed around the new year. This crust may exist up to mountain tops, and seems to be thick and supportive to the weight of a human south of Whistler, and more variable in thickness and strength to the north, where it thins out above 1900 m.

Down 50-100 cm, facets or isolated surface hoar are sitting on another crust. This layer produced surprising avalanches late in December, but it appears to have gained strength, or is being shielded by the newer crust, and is now less of a concern.

The lower snowpack is strong and bonded. Treeline snowpack depths are in the 60-100 cm range, decreasing rapidly below treeline.

Thursday Night

Cloudy. Up to 10 cm of snow by Friday morning. Moderate and increasing southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -8 °C.

Friday

Snowing. 15-30 cm new snow accumlating by 4pm. Very strong southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5 °C.

Cloudy. Up to 65 mm of precipitation in 48 hrs (falling as snow and ending early morning). Moderate west ridgetop wind. Treeline low around -6 °C.

Mix of sun and clouds. no precipitation. Light northt ridgetop wind. Treeline low around -8 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Storm slab size and sensitivity to triggering will likely increase through the day.
• Use caution above cliffs and terrain traps where even small avalanches may have severe consequences.
• Avoid shallow snowpack areas, rock outcroppings and steep convex terrain where triggering is most likely.