Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Due to the number of field observations

Wet, warm, and windy for the next couple of days before freezing levels plummet for the weekend. Wednesday: 20-40 mm of precipitation with freezing levels as high as 2400 m, and moderate but gusty southwesterly winds. Thursday: another 30-50 mm of precipitation with freezing levels dropping throughout the day to around 1700 m, and moderate but gusty southerly winds. Friday: Unsettled conditions with isolated flurries and sunny breaks, freezing levels in valley bottoms, and light winds.

A few Size 1 skier-triggered storm slab avalanches were reported from the Whistler area over the past couple of days, mostly in the upper treeline and lower alpine elevation band.

Continued snowfall is increasingly burying variable old snow surfaces from last week including weak facets sitting on a crust now down as much as 50 cm at treeline elevations and deeper in the alpine. Initial reports suggest this weakness is most pronounced slopes at upper treeline and lower alpine elevations. However, as we begin our forecasting season, we are working with limited information from the field. Check the bond of the snowpack at this level and take a cautious approach as new snow builds deeper above this layer.