Avalanche Forecast

Over the past week, avalanche activity has been limited to a few small (size 1) wind slabs with the exception of one larger (size 2) wind slab that likely occurred on Monday (photos here).

Looking forward to Sunday, we suspect the overnight increasing southerly winds will have stiffened the upper snowpack and created fresh wind slabs in lee areas.

In wind-sheltered terrain, up to 10 cm of new snow overlies 30 to 40 cm of settling old storm snow, while exposed alpine terrain has likely been impacted by strong southerly winds. The recent snow is well bonded to underlying layers, with the possible exception of steep wind-loaded slopes. Snow depths at White Pass are around 100 cm in sheltered areas and closer to 200 cm on wind-loaded slopes.

Saturday night

Cloudy with flurries, up to 5 cm accumulation. Southerly winds increase 30-60 km/h. Alpine temperature -6 C, freezing level 300 m.

Sunday

Light snow ending in the morning, clearing skies. Ridgetop winds from the south 40 km/h easing to light. Freezing level drops to valley bottom with alpine temperatures around -7 C.

A mix of sun and cloud, light southerly winds. Alpine temperatures around -13 C.

Partially cloudy, light southerly winds. Alpine temperatures around -16 C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind affected terrain.
• Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
• Use ridges or ribs to avoid areas of wind loaded snow.
• The best and safest riding will be on slopes that have soft snow without any slab properties.